As the Amatak Award enters its fourth edition this year, Cambodia Living Arts (CLA) is widening our lens and deepening our commitment to the vibrant, evolving ecosystem of Cambodian arts. From visual and performing arts to gender discourse, and the expanding role of art within civil society, CLA is today actively working to bridge gaps in the arts and help shape a more resilient creative future.
To mark this moment, we invited four Amatak awardees to share their journeys. Their voices offer a glimpse into the challenges, breakthroughs, and quiet transformations. They are the stories our community eager to hear as we look ahead to 2026.
From observer to storyteller: Prum Vorleakh turns social injustice into experimental theatre
Vorleakh’s path has moved across graphic design, fashion, marketing, and acting. Each step shapes her artistic eye and storytelling instincts. Yet even with this wide-ranging experience, before becoming a stage director, Vorleahk had waited years for the right film, the right director, or a character that felt right. Ghost movies, dominate the Cambodian film market, were not to her taste. “I may have set my expectations quite high,” she said. “That led me to the point where I wanted to write stories that interested me, stories I liked, and to tell them myself.”
She finds stories through observation, on social media, especially stories related to women. “For about 200 years, society has put pressure on women. It may look like things have changed and become more modern, but if you cut to the core, almost nothing has changed. When a woman makes a mistake, people use it to humiliate her, curse her, or attack her online.”
These injustices keep Vorleahk awake at night. She met a friend who introduced her to Anna Deavere Smith, an artist who both theorizes and practices docudrama. “My very first encounter was a TED talk, Four American Characters. I was like, ‘Wow! this [technique] fits exactly what I want to do. Someone has already done it, then I’ve learned so much from her.’”
Our New Creation grant met Vorleahk at exactly the right moment. The grant supports Cambodian artists in developing new work, through financial support and mentorship. For Vorleahk, it became the means to turn long-held questions on sexuality, power and abuse into a work of her own. Our Value has come to life. It is an experimental theatre piece that explores the resilience and vulnerability of women’s bodies in relation to law and (in)justice, through true stories of five women protagonists.
“It’s the chance to test my own ability,” she said.
What we learn from Vorleahk is that many small cuts can eventually break a mountain. Everything does not come all at once. Three things set the stage for what was to come: her restless eye for stories on social media, her discovery of Anna Devere Smith, and the act of collecting those stories, letting them accumulate until they demanded to be written down. No spoilers. After multiple works in progress, we hope to catch up with Our Value in March 2026.
“My performance mirrors women’s struggles universally. I just hope that 100 years from now on, nobody will need to bring up Chhbab Srey or the rules governing women in a performance like I do. I hope our Cambodian youth will be busy doing something better than today.”
Connecting Creativity and Social Change: Nop Linda’s Journey with Building Bridges
Formerly a live singer in a small band and a radio host, Linda is currently a communication and digital media professional with CENTRAL, where she produces videos on labour rights to empower garment workers. Through a new funding scheme, CLA established a partnership with CENTRAL, bringing Linda into Building Bridge platform through our Mobility Grant.
“CLA has seen the potential of us at CENTRAL, as we also focus a lot on media,” Linda said. The initiative brings together artists, CSOs, policymakers, grassroots and advocates. As part of the program, Linda travelled to Laos with a diverse cohort from Cambodia, including herself, a musician, and a filmmaker. She was particularly struck by the way our partner Mekong Cultural Hub organized the exchange.
Two sessions in particular shaped Linda’s experience which she wanted to share with us: Local Gathering and Citizen in Between. Both offered practical and personal insights into how arts and civic engagement intersect. Local Gathering, as Linda described, is a simple, community-based, discussions that bring stakeholders together around specific topics. Linda observed one session on environmental issues where elderly neighbours were invited to share their perspectives. She hopes to adapt this approach in future community engagements in Cambodia.
The Citizen in Between session left a deeper personal impact. “It’s based on the idea that everyone holds more than one role in life,” Linda said. Participants were asked to reflect on their daily roles, as mother, daughter, filmmaker, and an advocate, then consider how these identities shape both their careers and social lives. “It made us realize that everything we do matters. It inspired us to keep doing good things for our communities. The speakers were very inspiring.”
The experience allowed Linda to see firsthand how artists use creativity to respond to community needs and strengthen livelihoods, reinforcing her belief in the power of arts and media as tools for social change.
“There is nothing more precious to pack home with me than the networks and creative ideas gathered in this experience,” she said, “and I really thank CLA for this opportunity.”
Graphic Design for Community: Saraen Hin Hopes to Turns Skills into Cultural Impact
Hin, 36, is a member of the Kroeung Indigenous community, born and raised in the northeastern Kalai village, Ratanakiri. He has lived and worked in Phnom Penh since 2012, moving from CSOs to private sector. He is currently an IT officer with the Cambodian Water Supply Association.
A recipient of the Arn Chorn-Pond Living Arts Scholarship, Learning and Development Program, Hin said the award allows him to take on a long-deferred challenge in graphic design. He enrolled Addbook Computer Centre, hoping to sharpen his abilities and apply them directly to his volunteer work with an Indigenous collective.
“I feel so lucky to get support from CLA. Otherwise, I would have to save up, and it would take much longer to reach my goal,” he said.
Together with other Indigenous community members, Hin helped operate a YouTube channel and social media platform of Indigenous Peoples Sound dedicated to promoting Indigenous culture through digital media.
“I hope to gain knowledge and skills from the courses and apply them to my daily work such as designing brochures, leaflets, banners, and other materials for social media,” he said. “I need to learn this in order to support and serve the mission of my Indigenous community.”
Hin was introduced to our scholarship through a friend, a member of Tompoun Indigenous. The process was competitive—Hin taught us that if the first attempt fails, simply try a second time. That persistence is how we meet him at the Amatak Awards.
Looking ahead, Hin hopes to advance into animation and help digitize and document Indigenous cultural heritage so it can endure for future generations.
From Language Barriers to an Art Catalyst: Sovanny Turns Challenges into Opportunities
Sovanny recently graduated in Visual Communication Design, now works on graphic design, marketing and event management for a private company. Her path to the arts is anything but straightforward.
Growing up in Banteay Meanchey, she didn’t have the chance to study English the way students in Phnom Penh do. “I recall not understanding concepts discussed in English at an event,” she says. “I tried as I know some English, but I lost a lot of information because of my limitation.”
Seeking to overcome this barrier, Sovanny applied for the Arn Chorn-Pond Living Arts Scholarship to enroll a professional English class to enhance her proficiency to a professional level, which she hopes to leverage in communicating and engaging with international partners.
Her journey in the arts has been guided by determination. Coming from a family that saw art as mere entertainment, she learned to carve her own path, seeking out like-minded people to inspire and challenge her. From volunteers and speakers at BarCamp, to a dance teacher, team members at Run With Sai, and the very first visit to Royal University of Fine Arts which stay forever in her memory, she built a network that shaped her vision.
At first, Sovanny wasn’t sure if she wanted to create art herself or support artists. Over time, she discovered her calling: helping artists grow, she said, by using her skills behind the scenes. In her story, perseverance, community, and curiosity converge. It turns limitations into opportunities.
“To me, it’s a very good scholarship that gives students the chance to sharpen skills beyond arts and explore new possibilities,” she said. “It makes me feel safe and supported, allow me to focus on more on learning and contribute our knowledge back to society.”
These four stories are drawn from more than 200 awardees CLA has supported over the past eight years. Through 36 awards across multiple categories including six Mobility grants, one Springboard Award, 15 Chakto, four New Creation awards, and 10 scholarships. CLA continues to invest in artists who are redefining what Cambodian art can be, today and tomorrow.