Competition jury

Meet our esteemed Multi-Arts Competition Jury!

"When I started organizing this art competition, I conceived of a Jury with two or three Khmers, referents in art and painting, two or three art collectors, heads of companies or cultural organizations, and then a young artist and at least one woman in this group... so that all sensibilities would be represented. A neutral, varied and balanced Jury.

In the group below, candidates for the first EKARIEACH 23 competition will find a Jury that reflects these concerns, guaranteeing - I assure you - almost perfect impartiality in the judging of each work of art, and no risk of corruption. 

The members of the Jury derive no benefit from this function and three of them, on the contrary, put up funds for the presentation of the three Prizes rewarding the best works if not the best artists."

"The first time I had the chance to meet H.E. Madame KERYA was thirty years ago at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, where she was assistant to H.E. Vann Molyvann, the great Architect, builder of the "new modern Khmer architecture" and designer of, among other historical treasures, the ... Independence Monument. 

Dr. KERYA's competence, recognized today by APSARA's top management in Siem Reap and the Kingdom of Cambodia, makes him a noble reference for the EKARIEACH 23 Jury, competent and uncompromising."

"The idea for the EKARIEACH 23 competition came from a conversation with the General Manager of several Accor Group Hotels, and in particular the creator six years ago of THE GALLERY at his Hotel Sofitel Phokeethra Phnom Penh. We were looking for artists to exhibit in 2024!

Charles-Henri CHEVET is a business leader, a gallery owner and a keen collector of paintings. I proposed the possible project to him and he raised the funds to launch the competition, convinced that it would be a success. Naturally optimistic, but always relying on figures, he asked me how many candidates might be interested in taking part in the competition. I answered between 100 and 1000 if we included all the provinces. He replied: commit to a figure - no doubt close to calculating the financial effort per candidate - and recorded my bet of 105 participants.

Today, he wonders if THE GALLERY will be big enough in January 2014, in case all the works produced are excellent..."

"I met CHAN Vitharin almost twenty years ago, when he was a French-language contributor to the Journal Cambodge Soir, and I met him again more recently, teaching design, art and painting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh.

This is the Professor I was looking for...

When I asked him to collaborate on the EKARIEACH 23 project and to become a member of the Jury, he assured me of his confidence and his presence if he could be of help in a disinterested way (which is not the case for some other people). His youth and modesty will be a real asset on the Jury of the 2023 competition for all the candidates who are not yet recognized artists."

"Most professional artists in the Kingdom of Cambodia are familiar with the famous LE LEZARD BLEU store, which a decade ago stood under the FCC on Quai Sisowath - opposite the Quatre-Bras - and has now moved to the now popular Rue 240 in Phnom Penh, a stone's throw from the Royal Palace and not far from the capital's major art gallery. It is in this store, created by Madame CHEN, just as well known as he, that art lovers, amateurs and professionals alike, find the marériaux and various frames and easels they need to learn to paint. In this store, you'll sometimes find the work of Pierre ROL, a former executive in the tobacco industry, who has become an artist, sculptor and bronze founder.

Husband of Madame CHEN, he immediately agreed to help organize the EKARIEACH 23 competition and finance the Prix du Nouveau Talent. Above all, Pierre ROL is a discerning and uncompromising eye for quality. As a member of the Jury, with a cool, inexhaustible sense of humor, he'll be on the lookout for potential fraudsters."

"We needed a culture and art professional, and as I couldn't find a candidate within the Cambodian Ministry of Culture, Valentin RODRIGUEZ was the obvious choice; Cultural Attaché to the French Embassy and Director of the French Cultural Institute in Phnom Penh. 

Having come to art through the cinema, assistant director of numerous films, Heritage Director and enthusiast of Khmer art on a daily basis, he is now a reference in Cambodia and immediately agreed to lend his eye to the works in the EKARIEACH 23 Competition and to take part in the Jury."

"Here we meet an american citizen in the JURY (after 3 or 4 khmer citizens and 3 or 4 french citizens ?).

Casey BARNETT is the founder and president of CamEd Business School (also known as CamEd Institute), Cambodia’s leading institute of higher education in the fields of accounting and finance. 

Casey is known for his Khmer language skills ! And is the only one foreigner to ever pass the Cambodian National Tax Agent exam which is in Khmer language. 

Mister Casey is an advisor to the Ministry of Economy and Finance but he is also a lover of Art and Galleries and a premium collector for his hobby... May be ready to buy the winner artwork !"

Jean MOREL, a player in the Salon des Créateurs since 2012 and manager of ReCréation, curator, has been busy discovering new Khmer artists and exhibiting the best of them in recent years. He is now Founder of the EKARIEACH 23 competition, as well as manager of the RECREATION-CAMBODIA website. 

He now lives in Siem Reap, where he holds a position as Advisor to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the new Royal Government, and wishes to devote himself to the "Save the Nature" project.