The River Gallery Opens 6 Days a Week with a New COC Showcase
Did you know The River Gallery is now open 6 days a week?
AND we just put up a brand new exhibition surrounding the Colors of Cambodia Collective!
THE COC COLLECTIVE
COC, or The Colors of Cambodia Art School (est. in 2003), is a distinguished and long-running school developed by American William “Bill” Gentry in response to the absence of arts education in Cambodia. Since its inception, the school has provided free art education to thousands of Khmer children and teenagers, with approximately 1500 students educated each calendar year.
Currently, the Colors of Cambodia School NGO employs seven full-time teachers who, in addition to teaching classes seven days a week at the two-story school along the river, also teach at seven local schools within a half-hour radius. For 22 years, the school has endeavored to find and foster the talents of dedicated, serious youngsters and teens who show promise as future artists. The teachers educate a broad range of students and further provide focused education for those who want to continue their artistic education more seriously.
This current exhibition highlights the collective of teachers and volunteers, as well as the founder of COC. It serves as a testament to the earnest integrity of the Colors of Cambodia School. The work you will observe in The River Gallery is quite different from that which you’ll find in the local markets in Siem Reap, and there are several reasons for this - The first being that the school provides a sense of safety and ample time to explore non-traditional methods. In addition, COC hosts international artists who generously provide workshops, hosts weekly art critiques, and has also built an extensive art library for historical art research.
As the largest and longest-running art school in Siem Reap, Colors of Cambodia continues to offer excellence in teaching methodologies and art-making.
Please join us in surveying the work from those closely associated with Colors of Cambodia.