Visions Émergentes: Phnom Penh's Next Generation of Photographers Steps Into the Light

For four weeks this summer, Studio Images – Maison de la Photographie opens its walls to sixteen graduating photographers. Shaped by two years of training, their personal series look at Cambodia from the inside — memory, identity, and the quiet texture of everyday life.

Along the railway, series by Chetra Voeun

There's something moving about watching two years of training come full circle in a single exhibition. That's the moment ahead for the 2024-2026 class of Studio Images – Maison de la Photographie, which from mid-July presents the graduation projects of its sixteen students across four successive shows. After two years spent sharpening technique, honing a critical eye and testing every register of visual storytelling, each student now presents a personal body of work, built up over time — the finish line of a training programme, but really the starting point of a professional practice.

The programme, funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC/DDC) and run together with the Photo Phnom Penh Association (PPPA), forms part of Cambodia's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) framework, recognised by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. Presenting and defending a final-year project is a condition for certification here — an administrative hurdle as much as an artistic one, which gives the whole exhibition the feel of a rite of passage.

First show, 13 to 18 July: Raksmey Kong explores the figure of the Naga, while Gechsang Tang examines distance and connection in Still here, still distance. Kimhong Chhen offers a gentler, softer series with Watercolor, and Sreythou Thorn looks back on childhood in Just a kid.

Still here, still distance, series by Gechsang Tang

Still here, still distance, series by Gechsang Tang

Just a kid, series by Sreythou Thorn

From 21 to 25 July, the second show turns toward close relationships: Station26 by Chanpisey Kong, the family portrait My aunt by Chantheany Chamnan, Menea Touch's quiet observation in Remark, and A dream lives on by Minea Chham, a meditation on a dream that refuses to fade.

The third sequence, from 28 July to 1 August, widens the lens toward community and the social body: Along the railway by Chetra Voeun, Between growth and community by Reaksa Im, My body, my choice by Samnang Chum, Line Through Time by Sathya Puth, and Ferry boat by Sotherng Keng.

Along the railway, series by Chetra Voeun

Finally, from 4 to 8 August, four last perspectives close the cycle: Haircut by Chomran Thith, Living gold by Kosal Et, Echoes of that time by Sreylin Hak, and the behind-the-scenes wedding moments captured by Vattanak Chea in Wedding behind the scene.

Beyond the dates and titles, one conviction runs through Visions Émergentes: that a new generation of Cambodian photographers has something to say, and the technical and artistic means to say it. The public is warmly invited to see for themselves at Studio Images – Maison de la Photographie, #492, St. 24BT, Sangkat Boeung Tumpun 2, Khan Meanchey, Phnom Penh — for enquiries, call +855 10 668 608 or email photophnompenh@gmail.com.