Advisor

Taking a quick break from his latest painting project – a giant naga winding up the wall of the Institut Francais – street artist Theo Vallier wastes no time reeling off the events, challenges and objectives involved in the upcoming Cambodian Urban Art Festival, curated by him and fellow street artist known as Chifumi.

In a paint-spattered T-shirt and adrenalin-fuelled, but carefully articulated speech, Theo explains, “On April 23rd there is the opening party [at Institut Francais]. There will be all different things: one exhibition of Chifumi and my artworks in the gallery on one side; on the other there are big murals painted by the artists involved; Skateistan has an exhibition of hand-painted skateboard decks, all made in Cambodia; then the KlapYaHandz show will be in the garden.”

Pausing to point out a name and image on the festival brochure, Theo continues with contained excitement, “We also have Alias, who is a light painter. He does what we call ‘light graffiti.’ He sets up a long exposure camera in the dark and he works in front of walls with graffiti. He uses light to draw things in the air in front of the graffiti, and with the long exposure, it sticks on the photo like a drawing. He can’t see what his picture will look like until after it is captured. He will be showing his series of photos using this unique technique.”

Running from Thursday April 23 to Sunday May 17, the first Saturday of the festival will include a tuk tuk tour of several prominent murals around the city, painted by selected artists in the lead-up to the event.

“There will be around 30 tuk tuks and it’s free admission. These artists will have a wall to paint around the city,” Theo says, holding up a flyer including familiar names such as Lisa Mam and Peap Tarr, as well as newcomers, including 17-year-old locals  Davido and Koy.

 

Theo explains the event and the process of gaining permission to paint with a hint of urgency: at the time of speaking, with only 13 days until the tour, authorisation is yet to be formally acquired.

“We will be starting soon. The thing is that we are working with the government on that project, the municipality. We have to ask permission to paint the wall on the street so we don’t get into any trouble from police. So we had to ask the artists to send a sketch of what they wanted to do – colours, design, everything – send them all to the government municipality, and wait for their answer. We finally got a ‘yes’ a week ago, but until then we were quite stressed. But we don’t have the official letter from them yet. Most of the places to be painted are very high exposure, so we can’t start without that. Within 13 days, we need to get that letter and the artists need to start and finish all their work.”

Both Theo and co-curator Chifumi are no strangers to the complications involved with painting publically, particularly in a city in which street art is still a relatively nascent concept. To further drive home the point, Theo receives a phone call only moments after chatting, informing him that the authorisation he had previously received to paint one of the public walls has been retracted.

Theo remains optimistic, however, focusing on the flip-side of pioneering an industry whose accessible, emergent nature affords the perfect opportunity for creative innovation and growth.

“Painting here is different from other cities. There are not a lot of artists, there are not a lot of painted walls around, so it’s easier to find free walls. Our idea for this festival is really to bring more creativity together in Cambodia. To show the young generation we can also paint on the walls and do nice things. This is also the message we want to send to the municipality: it’s not vandalism, its art. Real art. So we are bringing colours to the city, for everybody, for free.”

Theo adds, “It’s a lot easier for most people to access street art than to walk in the gallery – most [locals] will never pass the door of a gallery. Most Cambodian people don’t really even know where contemporary art is or why, or what it is about. The good thing with street art is that it’s free for everybody and that it’s easy to access.”

The confidence Theo maintains despite administrative setbacks is perhaps at least partially related to the comparative ease with which the entire project was made possible in the first place, thanks to ongoing help and support from the Institut Francais.

“They have been helping us from the beginning. It’s a lot easier to establish contact with the municipality since we are French artists in Cambodia doing it through the institute. If we went to knock on the governor of Phnom Penh’s door and just said, ‘Hey we want to paint on some walls,’ he’d be like, ‘Go away, please.’ It has been a lot easier to work with the French Institute. They have helped us a lot and it’s what’s made us able to do this as big.”

 

The concept for the festival, which Theo and Chifumi aim to repeat and develop annually, began way back when the artists began collaborating two years ago.

“We wanted to really try to create something within the context of Cambodia in terms of art and creativity. We want to show the young generations here that they can take their own culture and rework it in a more modern way,” Theo says. “All the work I’m doing with the Khmer patterns like the naga and Chifumi’s apsara hands are exactly that: it’s the idea to make the old culture more modern. It’s really not to look at what’s happening overseas, bring it here and copy it. We would really like for people here to appropriate this old style of Khmer art practice – because this culture is just super rich –to create something new and all their own.”

With an aim to promote all forms of local urban art, the festival will not be limited to painting, additionally including a hip hop performance and skateboard art. While these art forms are deeply rooted within an urban culture originating in America, Theo believes the urban art scene represents an important underlying mindset and attitude which is just as applicable and relevant to the emerging Cambodian youth culture.

“From the very beginning, graffiti was part of hip hop culture. Artists of both kinds really connected, always working together, and that’s way back at the very beginning of hip hop in the US,” Theo says. “[The art forms] still have that link, and skateboarding fits well with the two, especially here in Cambodia. I think it’s good to bring these kind of underground cultures and people together in Cambodia. It’s a way to be different, especially with skateboards now, because here they attract a certain way to dress differently, act differently and grow your mind differently too. You can see it happening through all these things among Cambodian youth, and that’s a great thing.”

Having now lived and painted in Phnom Penh for more than seven years, Theo believes that, with continuously increasing support for local modern art and design, as well as improved accessibility and communication with artists worldwide, the face of Phnom Penh’s contemporary art scene is undergoing a metamorphosis more rapid and significant than ever before.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes. At the time I arrived, I didn’t see any other kinds of graffiti in the city. But now it’s developing and changing,” Theo says. “The new generation is already more creative. There are more schools for design and graphic design, so they are more into that kind of thing, and now with the internet they can look more around the world into what is happening. So with all the underground communities like hip hop and skateboarding they’re getting more and more information on what is happening overseas and they can create their own thing. It’s only going to grow.”

The Cambodian Urban Art Festival opens 6:30pm on Thursday April 23 at Institut Francais, #218 St. 184.