5 Famous Street Artists Making Waves In Cambodia

The urban art movement is in its infancy in Cambodia, but as the country’s free-thinking way of expression catches on, a steadily rising number of street artists are pushing the scene. Here are a handful of trailblazers leading the way.

Lisa Mam and Peap Tarr

Lisa Mam with a piece of her and Peap Tarr’s work

The renaissance in urban art kick-started five years ago, thanks to a chance meeting between Lisa and Peap. Cambodian-born-and-bred Mam had an innate interest in art, but it wasn’t until she met Cambodian New Zealander Tarr, a street artist with international experience, that she started pursuing it seriously. The couple started collaborating, with each piece inspired by Cambodia’s rich heritage, such as the hand gestures of apsara dancers and the five-headed dragon, Naga. Their work can be seen in a number of restaurants, bars and cafés throughout the capital.

Daniel Ou, AKA Strange the Rabbit

Cambodian American Daniel Ou moved to Cambodia eight years ago, bringing with him an interest in art. The 21-year-old, who specialises in Khmer script, became so frustrated with the lack of materials in the country that he set up his own successful store, Burners, which sells high-quality, imported products.

Kimchean Koy

Work by Koy at Cambodia Urban Art Festival 2015

Koy is a street artist who has been honing his skills for the past three years. Self-taught by trawling the internet and spending hours on YouTube, the 19-year-old was mesmerised by the diversity urban art offers. He spent his spare time practising, and met up with other street artists to learn new designs and push the scene. With heavy Khmer influences, he continues to experiment with style, dabbling with stencils, projector traces and free-hand work, keeping Khmer people at the heart of his art.

David ‘Davido’ Myers

Making his first proper public outing at the inaugural Cambodia Urban Art Festival in 2015, 19-year-old Davido is inspired by Picasso and the cubism movement, creating animals from bold, colourful geometric shapes. He also perfected his skills using YouTube, and currently juggles his art with studying.

Théo Vallier

Relocating to Cambodia from Marseilles, France, in 2007, Vallier made it his focus to foster the burgeoning Cambodian street art movement. Working with youngsters to develop a scene and teaching them techniques and styles, he teamed up with fellow French artist Chifumi and a few others to launch the annual Cambodia Urban Art Festival in April 2015. This boasts a series of urban-inspired events, from graffiti tours to hip-hop evenings, as well as offering interested youngsters a platform to practise and learn from artists invited from across the region and beyond.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.