Cambodian Art Exhibit Shows Horrors of War

Images of the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime that inflicted mass suffering and death in Cambodia during the 1970s have made their way to Long Beach, home of the largest Cambodian community outside Southeast Asia.

The 17 prints are intended to give exposure to the artists as well as promote Cambodian culture in the United States, said Mon Duch, director of the Arts of Apsara Gallery and Cultural Center, where the images will be on display through Aug. 15.

“Most of the artists over there, it’s hard for them to make a living,” he said, adding that organizers hope the “Witness to Genocide” exhibit will establish a U.S. market for Cambodian artwork.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation and Long Beach’s Public Corporation for the Arts, the exhibit is on loan from the Cambodian Artists Assistance Project, a Boston-based organization founded a year ago by two Cambodian holocaust survivors.

Also on display at the gallery are two traditional wooden looms crafted by Long Beach resident Chum Sambath, one of few master Cambodian loom makers in the world. The looms are expected to be used to instruct Cambodian Americans, who number about 40,000 in Long Beach, in the ancient art of Southeast Asia fabric making, Duch said.

The gallery is in the United Cambodian Community Plaza at 2338 E. Anaheim St.

Although the gallery is funded by grants, Duch said the Cambodian community is hoping to make it self-supporting by selling art.

Information: (562) 438-3932.