In the third installment of CoBo’s series on Cambodian photographers, I spoke with artist Sophal Neak, a rising talent in the Cambodian scene. This piece is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
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At the beginning of the year I visited Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich in his Phnom Penh studio. He explained his view of contemporary art in Cambodia and what young artists need in order to grow the local art scene. The article is part of my reportage on Cambodian contemporary art.
Here is the link to the interview
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Another interview with a super-interesting Khmer artist has been published on CoBo, as part of my reportage on contemporary art in Cambodia. For this piece I spoke with Kanitha Tith, one of the young, emerging voices in the artistic landscape, who is gaining more and more recognition internationally.
In the article she tell about her creative process and what it means to be a multi-passionate creative in Phnom Penh.
Here is the link to the interview
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I’m honored and humbled to have had the chance of writing about the work of an extraordinary artist and human being such as Cambodian painter Vann Nath. The piece is out in the new issue of Art Republik and is part of the Cambodia reportage I realized in February. This is the fifth piece about Cambodian art I did for the magazine, and I’m so happy to have these beautiful pages as an outlet for the research.
In the article, which I wrote in conjunction of the publication in Italy of Vann Nath’s memoir by ADD Editore “Il pittore dei khmer rossi”, I traced the legacy of this artist on Cambodian contemporary art, and how his example and practice influenced the new generations of artists in the Kingdom.
Here is the link to the pdf version of the piece
I can’t be more happy and grateful when I see a new article of mine on the homepage of CoBo Social. It still gives me the same buzz of 10 years ago, when I was just starting out writing for online magazines.
This interview with Srey Bandol, co-founder of the art school Phare Ponleu Selapak in Battambang, Cambodia, is particularly rewarding because it is a part of the reportage on Cambodian contemporary art I did at the beginning of the year. I really hope that through these articles CoBo and I will be able to give a more complete picture of the art scene in this fascinating country.
Here is the link to the interview
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I have just been back from Japan a couple of days ago, and it has been great to find my essay on the state of contemporary art museums in Rome published on Culture360, the webmagazine of the Asia-Europe foundation.
The piece stems from my conversations with Hou Hanru and Giorgio de Finis, and takes into consideration the example of the ex-GNAM, La Galleria Nazionale directed by Cristiana Collu. While in the piece I take a bit of a critical tone, I hope that you can read through the lines my positive feeling for a scene in transformation.
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To Stephanie Fong, founder and director of FOST Gallery in Singapore, the job of a gallerist is not just about selling the art, but rather providing an experience. With an uncontainable passion for culture, as well as an eye for the evolving trends worldwide, Stephanie has become a point of reference in the Lion City’s art scene.
I had the pleasure of talking with Stephanie for CoBo Social during my last visit to Singapore a couple of months ago, and I found he combination of strenght and grace – in both her personality and in the way she runs her business – incredibly inspiring:
“Why are you doing this?” She laughed and replied almost immediately: “I think at the core of it it’s what I’m meant to do. Now looking back at my journey, it all made sense, even though I hadn’t really planned it that way. Maybe it has been all about faith.”
Here is the link to the interview
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Little by little parts of my Cambodia research/reportage are coming out in the press: here is a piece on the Phnom Penh-based supergroup Stiev Selapak which has just been published on the Singapore-based art magazine Art Republik. Can’t wait to have the physical copy in my hands!
Here is the link to the article
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CoBo has published my review of the Teng Collection at Art Stage 2018. I was very happy to write about the first ever showcase of this outstanding collection, and compelled to learn and reflect on the ethos who is driving the collectors.
This piece actually came out last week but I didn’t post it immediately on the blog because in these past few days I have been busy running around Phnom Penh to collect interviews for my current reportage on Cambodian contemporary art. But here you go, you can read it at the link below.
Here is the link to the review
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What a nice evening at Kon Len Khnhom, the contemporary art space run in Phnom Penh, Cambodia by art manager Meta Moeng! It was great to finally see the space in person after hearing so much about it; this is a traditional Khmer house tucked in a small alley right in the city center, where they held residences, events and do projects with students.
Yesterday night I held a talk talking about my experience researching emerging art scenes, from Indonesia to Singapore, and I discussed with the audience about the features of the Cambodian contemporary art scene and the local art market. The atmosphere was so nice and cozy and elicited reflections; really my jam! Below some pictures from the night.
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This Saturday 10th February 2018 I’m going to have a talk at the art space in Kon Len Khnhom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
For this art talk, I’ll be sharing about my own experience and methodology in researching the emerging art scenes. Meanwhile, I will also present my findings about the Cambodian art scene so far and ask feedback from the audience to analyse together these different aspect of the art scene.
Please drop by if you are in town!
Here is the link to the fb event
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CoBo Social has just published my interview with Cambodian photographer Kim Hak as the first of a three-part series on Cambodian photographers. In this piece I talk with Kim Hak about the special role photography holds in Cambodia for the collective memory.
Here is the link to the interview
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Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
