Michigan Exhibit Links Ancient Angkor to Today’s Cambodia

via VOA, 10 March 2024: The University of Michigan Museum of Art showcases a unique blend of historical and contemporary Cambodian art in an exhibition curated by Nachiket Chanchani. “Angkor Complex: Cultural Heritage and Post-Genocide Memory in Cambodia” reflects on the intertwining of Cambodia’s ancient heritage with its more recent painful past, highlighted by the genocide under the Khmer Rouge. Featuring works by artists like Vann Nath and Amy Lee Sanford, the exhibit bridges Cambodia’s storied history with its ongoing journey of healing and resilience.

Six years ago, Nachiket Chanchani visited Angkor Wat for the first time. Inspired, the architectural historian began thinking about the relationship between the complexities of modern post-genocide Cambodia and the ancient temple complex.

Chanchani, an associate art history professor at the University of Michigan, kept reflecting on Angkor Wat, juxtaposing the temple complex against art created since the Khmer Rouge killed nearly 2 million Cambodians between 1975 and 1979.

During the pandemic, his thoughts crystallized amid worldwide suffering, anxiety and fear. “I thought that this art, both from the deep past and from more recent times in Cambodia, can teach us lessons of how to kind of stay stable, find some way forward,” he told VOA Khmer Service via Zoom.

The University of Michigan Museum of Art, or UMMA, one of the largest university museums in the United States, is now exhibiting 80 pieces of Cambodian art in a show guest curated by Chanchani in Ann Arbor. Titled “Angkor Complex: Cultural Heritage and Post-Genocide Memory in Cambodia,” it opened February 3 and runs through July 28. Featured artists Vann Nath, Sopheap Pich, Svay Sareth, Amy Lee Sanford and Leang Seckon, who live in Cambodia and the U.S., have pieces in the exhibit.

Source: Michigan Museum Reveals Complex Heritage of Cambodian Art