Artisans Angkor: Reclaiming Cambodian Silk Crafts under French Patronage (1992–2017)

Abstract

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that granted a return to a relative political stability in Cambodia, the non-profit organization Les Chantiers Ecoles was launched with the support of the European Union to revive local traditional crafts and sericulture that had nearly vanished under the Khmer Rouge regime. This vocational institute was the result of a cooperation between the French and the Cambodian government. It provided training to disadvantaged young villagers of Siem Reap’s area in polychromic woodwork, stone carving, metal, lacquerware, and silk weaving. Eventually, the project turned into a social enterprise under the French name Artisans Angkor. Drawing its inspiration from the surrounding archaeological splendors of Angkor Wat, the company emphasizes its authentic making processes. Artisans Angkor welcomes tourists to its silk farm near Siem Reap, using this production site as a showcase for sericulture from silkworms breeding to weaving, promoting the revival of indigenous golden silk while selling a wide range of souvenirs. Relying on the performative value of silk craft practices, Artisans Angkor has developed an engaging storytelling as well as an educational and marketing tool, which elevates crafts as tokens of Cambodian cultural identity. Praised by the Cambodians who consider the brand a national success, the enterprise has however kept a French leadership. Tracing the company’s history, this paper examines to which extent Artisans Angkor follows the definition of a Transnational Artisan Partnership developed by anthropologist Susan Falls and how it pertains to a form of soft power for the French. Through the analysis of its aesthetic and discourses, this case study highlights the project’s hybrid nature and demonstrates how it relates to the colonial model of the School of Cambodian Arts implemented in 1920 under the French Protectorate to promote Cambodian crafts.

Keywords:

• Cambodia
• sericulture
• weaving
• post-colonial studies
• invented traditions
• soft power

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council (TECHNE).

Magali An Berthon is a French Vietnamese textile researcher focusing on Southeast Asian textiles, local craft cultures, and sustainable processes. After earning an MFA in textile design at the National School of Decorative Arts of Paris, she studied textile history and museum practices at the Fashion Institute of Technology of New York on a Fulbright Fellowship in 2014–2015. She continued with one year fellowship at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in Curatorial Textiles. She is currently a PhD candidate in History of Design at the Royal College of Art in London researching the dynamics of silk heritage in contemporary Cambodia. [email protected]