PRESS INFORMATION
connect: Phnom Penh: Rescue Archaeology
Contemporary Art and Urban Development in Cambodia
ifa gallery Berlin, Linienstrasse 139/140, 10115 Berlin
In “Phnom Penh: Rescue Archaeology” the ifa gallery Berlin presents for the firsttime in Europe artists from Cambodia who engage in capturing and archiving thetransforming city in their collages, photographs, sculptures, installations anddocumentations. The exhibition puts in conversation the artists’ works and theideas of Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, who had a decisive impact on theNew Khmer Architecture in the 1960s in Cambodia and remains an importantsource of inspiration for modern urbanisation developments in Phnom Penh.
Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, is the country’s economic and cultural centre.
In the past decade, the city has been developing rapidly; at the same time, it isconfronted with the repercussions of its chequered history between thedemocratisation of the 1960s and the dictatorship of the Khmer Rouge in the1970s. Until today, the past is omnipresent, influencing artists of all generations.
The works selected for the exhibition Phnom Penh: Rescue Archaeology reflectthe artists’ involvement not only with the history of Cambodia, but also with thecurrent political, economical, geographical and socio‐cultural changes. The
capital Phnom Penh is particularly affected by these transformations.
Curator Erin Gleeson, based in Phnom Penh for more than ten years, has selectedartists for the exhibition who have given significant impulses for contemporary
artistic developments in Cambodia. With the exhibition catalogue, which brings
together essays by experts in contemporary art in Southeast Asia, the Institutefor Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) publishes the first comprehensive bookworldwide about contemporary art in Cambodia in German and English
language. The catalogue is available for 17,‐‐ EUR.

Participating artists
Vann Molyvann and Svay Ken
Chan Dany, Khvay Samnang, Leang Seckon, Lim Sokchanlina, Sopheap Pich, Amy
Lee Sanford, Svay Sareth, Than Sok, Tith Kanitha, Vandy Rattana
Phnom Penh: Rescue Archaeology – Contemporary Art and Urban Change inCambodia is the fifth exhibition in the series connect, following the shows Art
Scene Vietnam, A Gentil Carioca – An Art Space in Rio de Janeiro, Khoj –International Artists’ Association in Delhi and Rosy Future – Contemporary Art
from Tunisia. The connect series is dedicated to developments in contemporary
art that take place in seeming remoteness. It is not only about presenting local
art scenes, however, but above all about establishing new connections, forming
and expanding networks and receiving and giving cultural impulses beyond
local, regional and national contexts.
Press conference
Opening
Duration
Opening hours

Thursday, 21 March 2013, 11:00
Thursday, 21 March 2013, 19:00
22 March – 16 June 2013
Tuesday – Sunday 14:00–19:00

Guided tours
Friday, 22 March 2013, 17:00
Guided tour through the exhibition with Erin Gleeson and the present artists
Khvay Samnang, Lim Sokchanlina, Svay Sareth and Vandy Rattana.
The event will be held in English.
Wednesday, 12 June 2013, 17:00 (in German)
Thursday, 13 June 2013, 17:00 (in English)
Guided tour and talk with art educator Annika Niemann.
The guided tours take place in the framework of the Asia Pacific Weeks.
EventsThursday, 25 April 2013, 19:00
connect: Meta House, partner of the Goethe Institute, Phnom Penh
The director of the German‐Cambodian Cultural Institute in Phnom Penh,
Nicolaus Mesterharm, will present the long‐term activities of Meta House,focussing on exhibitions and panel talks and in particular on film productions
and presentations. Some of the short films will be presented in a programmecompiled for this evening. The event takes place in cooperation with the Goethe
Institute Jakarta.
Thursday, 23 May 2013, 19:00
Lighter Than Orange, documentary, 2012/13, approx. 45 minutes

Film and book presentation with photographer Matthias Leupold, professor at
Technische Kunsthochschule Berlin.
Thursday, 30 May 2013, 18:00
Negotiating commemoration? Cultures of remembrance and commemoration work
– international perspectives
Discussion with Anja Bodanowitz, Hamza Chourabi, Constanze Eckert and Dr.
Sina Emde; moderated by Annika Niemann.
On the basis of examples from Cambodia, Germany and Tunisia the participants,
working in the fields of science, art and commemoration work, will discuss therole of artistic strategies and cultural education – between the politics ofremembrance and cultural memory, memorial place and negotiation space.
Art Educational ProgrammeWith Annika Niemann and Ev Fischer
Saturday, 20 April 2013, 11:30–14:00
Witnesses: About Archiving and dispersing, bequeathing and forgetting
A workshop for youngsters from the age of 12.
Sunday, 21 April 2013, 11:00–13:00
Remnants: About excavating and rescuing, exposing and obliterating
An artistic investigation for children from the age of 6.
Registration requested, Admission free.
Contact: phone +49‐30‐28449140, fischer@ifa.de
The art educational programme is also suited for school classes. Just contact us!
Guided tours in dialogue form for groups by appointment.
Making cities II
Urban excursions with Elfi Müller
Saturday, 13 April 2013, 11:00
Ku’damm 101 HotelKurfürstendamm 101
10711 Berlin
Saturday, 27 April 2013, 11:00
Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation
Flatowallee 1614055 Berlin
Saturday, 25 May 2013, 11:00
Hansaviertel
Oscar Niemeyer House
Walter Gropius

About the ifa
The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) is an organization operatingworldwide to promote artistic exchange and the dialogue between civil societies,
and to provide information about foreign cultural policy. The ifa is Germany’soldest institution for foreign cultural and educational policy and is supported bythe German Federal Foreign Office, the state of Baden‐Württemberg, and the cityof Stuttgart.
Information about the exhibition and the events:
Barbara Barsch, Linienstrasse 139/140, 10115 Berlin, phone +49.30.28449110,barsch@ifa.de
Ev Fischer: phone +49.30.28449140, fischer@ifa.de, www.ifa.de
Press contact ifa:
Miriam Kahrmann, Charlottenplatz 17, 70173 Stuttgart, phone +49‐711‐2225105, fax +49‐711‐2264346, kahrmann@ifa.de, www.ifa.de