During the Pol Pot period (1975-1979), the Khmer Rouge was responsible for the death of 90 percent of Cambodia’s artists, including those practitioners of traditional Khmer art forms. As a result, many genres of music and dance that had developed over hundreds of years were very nearly purged from the collective memory of the nation. However, ten years ago a genocide survivor named Arn Chorn-Pond embarked upon a mission to rescue the traditional arts of Cambodia. By tirelessly combing the country, a few surviving practitioners were located and offered stipends to teach and thereby pass their artistry on to the next generation. The not-for-profit organization that Mr. Chorn-Pond founded to carry out this work is called Cambodian Living Arts (CLA). These photographs were taken in the homes and villages of the Master Artists that CLA sponsors.

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