Cambodia Receives U.S. Fund for Cultural Preservation

By Sok Lak

The Cambodia Living Art Association received US$ 52,250 from the U.S. Ambassador Fund in order to organize rare document forms of Cambodian music in an effort to preserve

Cambodian heritage under a project called “Documentation of Three Khmer Musical Traditions.” H.E. KhimSarith, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and U.S. Embassy Charge Jeff Daigle participated in the initiative

“Founder of Cambodian Living Arts” and signed MOU to recognize Cambodian Living Arts as a recipient of the 2011 U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grant. At the signing ceremony, H.E. KhimSarith, said: “I am proud to receive funds from the U.S. even though the funds are not directly given to the ministry, but it is given to the Cambodian Art association which was recognized by the Cambodian ministry, so it means to give some to the Cambodia government while the Cambodian association implements the fund.” In order to implement the project, Cambodian Living Art will contribute $US16,700.

The project covered three rare forms of Khmer music: classical wedding music, melodic recitation, and ancient funeral music to produce archival quality audio and audiovisual recordings in order to be propagated widely. “I believe that this project will be an advance for Khmer culture conservation and development,” he added.

H.E. Charge Jeff Daigle said that, since its creation by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Ambassadors for Cultural Preservation has provided financial support to more than 640 cultural preservation projects in more than 100 countries. “10 years in the making, a contribution of nearly US$ 26 million towards the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide has been awarded as well as creating conversation. He added, this year, the Embassy received many proposals for Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation grants and US$ 52,250 in funding from the U.S. government, and it is going to be given to Cambodian Living Arts to support its project.

The winning proposal will gather the few surviving musicians of three rare forms of Khmer music: classical wedding music, melodic recitation, and ancient funeral music to produce archival-quality audio and audiovisual recordings. “This project will make these endangered music forms accessible to the public while preserving them for future generations,” he added.

In Cambodia, the U.S. Embassy since 2011 has provided nearly US$ 2.5 million to support cultural preservation projects, including archives at the National Museum of Cambodia, preservation of the Han Chey Temple in Kampong Cham, restoration of the Khaol Theatre, and conservation of the Phnom Bakheng Temple in Siem Reap.

In November 2011, the U.S. Embassy will call for proposals for the 2012 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation.

Source: The Southeast Asia Weekly, October 8-15, 2011, Vol. 5, Issue 41, Page 4