This year is the 10th anniversary of the Bonn Phum arts and culture festival, which travels around the Kingdom bringing art, culture, music and film to audiences. Now the same organisers have started a related event called Bonn Phum Mean Cheung, literally means Bonn Phum has a leg.

“We can say that the village is provenance like a mother. Bonn phum mean cheung is like children who travel to provinces. So, we named them differently. It means that during Bonn Phum, we travel to Phnom Penh or nearby Phnom Penh. For Bonn Phum Mean Cheung, we will hold it in each province, area in Cambodia,” said Ly Silakvatey, Bonn Phum festival director.

She added that Bonn Phum Mean Cheung will make its way to all of the provinces across Cambodia to increase its popularity. Creative communities in provinces have established a network of youths interested in culture, art, music and film, and investing in the preservation and development of artists in the region and in the provinces so that they will in turn continue to create and develop new works.

Addressing a March 3 press conference, Sakal Kethya, one of the four founders of Bonn Phum, said that the 10th annual Bonn Phum Festival will be held in the provinces.

“Bonn Phum Mean Cheung is a project we have long considered because festival goers from many provinces invited our festival to their provinces,” he added.

He continued that Bonn Phum Mean Cheung will be first held in November in first in Kratie province in November. The event will focus on the topic of dolphins, although no specific programmes have been determined.

“We are yet to have specific agenda to organise the programme. But what we planned, we want to take the regional art as our topic to give them an opportunity to go on the village festival stage. We also will bring art from Phnom Penh to show them,” she stated.

Silakvatey continued that in the near future, a Bonn Phum team will go to Kratie province to study the potential of art and culture in the province to organise a specific programme.

She also said that Bonn Phum in Phnom Penh will be held for a period of 10 days on April 1-9 in three locations. On April 1-2, it will be held at Factory Phnom Penh, with the organizer naming it “modern art week.”

On April 3-6, Bonn Phum will be organized in Chip Mong 271 Mega Mall, with the organizer calling it “special week.” On April 7-9, it will take place on the compound of a pagoda, about 45-minutes travel from Phnom Penh, with the organizer naming it “ancient week.”

She stated that this 10-day Bonn Phum was expected to have around 400,000 people in attendance. The event is open to members of the public for free, except for the modern art week in Factory Phnom Penh which costs 10,000 riel per ticket. The team will use the proceeds to organise Bonn Phum Mean Cheung in November in Kratie.