Deeply woven into the fabric of Cambodian culture is its court and folk dance and music.

It is through Khmer traditional performing arts that the mythology and history of its people is passed from generation to generation, but this system has struggled under the effects of war.

Aspara HeaddressesThe decimation of the Khmer people during Cambodia’s war in the late 1970’s targeted educators and cultural leaders in a systematic program of ethnic destruction that left well over one million dead and thousands as refugees to the U.S. and other countries.

Throughout the eighties and into the early nineties, ongoing political turmoil and economic instability plagued the country. In 1999 Cambodia experienced its first full year of peace in thirty years, a result of which has been increased international investment in the economically devastated country.

In the early 1990s the New England Foundation for the Arts began its work with Cambodian American artists and their counterparts from the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh. Now over ten years since its beginning, we have developed a formal program to support the capacity building efforts of the Khmer artistic communities in the U.S. and Cambodia through performance, technical support and professional development.

Trustees: Proeung Chhieng, Samuel A. Miller, Sam-Ang Sam, Ralph Samuelson, Sophally N. Showalter

Administration: Judilee Reed, Fred Frumberg

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