Blaise Kilian: “For young Cambodians, a museum has to speak to them”
Commissioned by the National Bank of Cambodia for the year of the Francophonie Summit, the exhibition “Angkêt de mots” tells the story of French words that found their way into Khmer. Nearly 12,000 people have visited in five months. The 1960s karaoke corner gets young people singing, and the Sunday theatre performance is always sold out. Blaise Kilian, co-director of the Sosoro Museum, talks about this success and the museum’s Francophonie programme this autumn. The exhibition runs until the end of November.
An exhibition in Khmer and French
Cambodge Mag: Blaise Kilian, can you remind us of the idea behind the exhibition, and how it has done since it opened?
Blaise Kilian: The exhibition was commissioned by the National Bank of Cambodia for the year of the Francophonie Summit. We chose to look at French loanwords in Khmer, and to make the exhibition as lively and interactive as possible. After a little more than five months, it has already drawn nearly 12,000 visitors. That is a very good score.
As always, the overwhelming majority of our visitors are Cambodian. We certainly don’t want fewer Cambodians, but we could welcome more French speakers. That is what makes this exhibition different: it is in Khmer and French, not in English. Today, about 15% of our visitors are not Cambodian. Visitors can read, listen, play, sing and learn.
Cambodge Mag: A word about the games. Is it phonetics?
Blaise Kilian: They are about loanwords, and compound words that refer to French or borrow from it. Visitors really get into it, I see that when I walk through the rooms. The karaoke section is very popular. Some listen, others sing into the microphone. We play French songs, like the famous “Aline” by Christophe, of course. But also many Cambodian classics, by Sinn Sisamouth for example, which are Khmer adaptations of very famous songs. Dalida’s “Histoire d’un amour” was covered by Sinn Sisamouth.
A lot of young people use this space, where we have recreated the atmosphere of the 1960s. That is when French flourished most in Cambodia.
Khmer words borrowed from French
kafé (កាហ្វេ): coffee, from “café”
kado (កាដូ): gift, from “cadeau”
num pang (នំប៉័ង): bread, “pang” from “pain”
ampoul (អំពូល): light bulb, from “ampoule”
dâmlaung barang (ដំឡូងបារាំង): potato, literally “French sweet potato”
poar sokola (ពណ៌សូកូឡា): brown, from “colour” and “chocolat”
A record player with a chip
Cambodge Mag: There is a nice paradox here. We are talking about vintage, about a golden age, but you are using very sophisticated technology
Blaise Kilian: Sosoro stays true to its brand, if I may say so after only seven years: using modern technology to make exhibitions interactive, and so attractive to young people. We have recreated a 1960s living room, in the decor, the furniture, the photos and the films playing on the old television. And in the karaoke section, there is a so-called old record player. It uses a chip to start the song and project the lyrics on the screen.
Cambodge Mag: It’s the first time we’ve seen this here
Blaise Kilian: In Cambodia, probably. At Sosoro, no. For our exhibition on the lost and found paintings of the Silver Pagoda, visitors already placed an acrylic plate on a piece of furniture fitted with a chip. The painting was projected on the wall, and a voice told, in Khmer or English, the jataka it depicted. What is new here is lidar for the interactive games: you touch the projection and it triggers the animation. That is a first.
Cambodge Mag: How long does it take to prepare an exhibition like this?
Blaise Kilian: This one took us about six months. That is not long. We benefited from the remarkable knowledge of the scientific curator, Jean-Michel Filippi, who produced the content in record time. The Melon Rouge agency then reworked it, not in substance, but to make it accessible to everyone.
It is also bolder than the previous ones, with even more advanced interactive features. The karaoke, the playful side, was a first. And it works very well. Young Cambodians love it. Many high school students come to learn, or for the atmosphere. That is the goal. If you want young people to feel like walking into a museum, the museum has to speak to them a little.
The Sangkum, an absolute reference
Cambodge Mag: The exhibition makes many references to the Sangkum. Does the Sangkum generation come too?
Blaise Kilian: The Sangkum remains an absolute reference for everyone. Just look at Facebook: videos and photos of the golden years of the Sangkum are still very popular. People of all ages come, even if the exhibition is especially popular with young people. The karaoke space was also a big hit with the governors of the French-speaking central banks who came in May, including our friends from Central and West Africa.
Open during the Summit
Cambodge Mag: Will the exhibition still be open during the Francophonie Summit?
Blaise Kilian: It was created for that. We opened it in May, as a preview for the governors of the French-speaking central banks, and held the official opening a little later. It was decided unanimously to keep it in place until the end of the Summit, so until the end of November.
But for us, the Francophonie is all year round. We have published in French, including a short book on the economic history of Cambodia with Sipar, and we are preparing a prestige reissue of Pierre Loti’s “Un pèlerin d’Angkor”. As for lectures, one will look at the impact of General de Gaulle’s 1966 Phnom Penh speech. Another, in French, will cover the Francophonie in Southeast Asia. It will be chaired by Jérémy Jammes, director of IRASEC.
A financial education centre on the way
Cambodge Mag: Sosoro started out as a museum of money, but it is opening up to many other subjects. How far will it go?
Blaise Kilian: We don’t forget our mandate: to tell the economic and monetary history of the country, and the role of money in society. Our lectures on history and heritage will continue, but we are giving more and more room to economics. We are currently thinking, at a pre-design stage, about a financial education centre. The thousands of students we welcome every year leave with an economic and monetary education. Financial literacy, to call it by its name, will soon be added. This year, we will pass the 200,000-visitor mark, with on average 50% young people and students.
“The Cambodia that moves forward is here”
Cambodge Mag: How would you encourage even more people to come?
Blaise Kilian: That is the Sosoro concept: you learn while having fun. Young Cambodians suddenly realise that some of the words they use are French. It is a temporary exhibition, it will disappear. We will put it online in 360° on our website afterwards, but now is the time to see it, while the Francophonie is being celebrated.
Our first audience is still young Cambodians. But the other day, the ambassador of Benin to Cambodia, who is based in Beijing, dropped in unannounced. We hadn’t been told. It was his liaison officer, who knew the exhibition, who had encouraged him to come. He really liked it, the song section too. Those are things that make us very happy.
Other museums are very good, I insist. The National Museum, Sosoro and the Royal Palace offer different, complementary experiences. For the beauty of Cambodia’s cultural heritage, go to the National Museum. For the story of Cambodia’s history, come here. And modern Cambodia, the Cambodia that moves forward, the Bakong generation Cambodia, is here.
(Editor’s note: Bakong is the National Bank of Cambodia’s digital payment system.)
Theatre every Sunday
Cambodge Mag: A word about your artistic collaborations?
Blaise Kilian: There is the Sbek Touch, the shadow theatre created by Khmer Art Action, with its very impressive projection. And there is The Last Stage, which puts on a walk-through theatre performance across the exhibition every Sunday afternoon. I have seen it, our whole team has seen it. It is very funny, moving at times, with an interactive part where everyone joins in. These young Cambodian actors can take you from laughter to tears in two minutes.
Cambodge Mag: Is it popular?
Blaise Kilian: Every performance is sold out. There are only 20 seats because the space is small, and there are often 23 or 25 people. It lasts 45 minutes, at 2pm or 4pm, for 20,000 riels. You need to book. Honestly, it made me laugh, it moved me. It shows that a young generation of Cambodians can do modern theatre in a captivating way.
Practical information
“Angkêt de mots”, exhibition in Khmer and French. Sosoro Museum (Museum of Economy and Money), Phnom Penh. Until the end of November 2026.
Walk-through theatre by The Last Stage: every Sunday at 2pm and 4pm, about 45 minutes. 20 seats, 20,000 riels. Booking essential, payment possible via ABA.
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