Winners of Angkor Art Competition

On August 14th, 2022, YouAdMe announced the winners of the Angkor Art competition following the final round held in the form of a live art battle at DROPS Studio. Hanna, from Ukraine, won first place while local artists Roth and Sokheng placed second and third.

Launched on May 1st, the Angkor Art competition is part of a series of offline events under YouAdMe’s Angkor Art Movement 2022 campaign to bring artists and art lovers in Phnom Penh together. 

Aimed at discovering rising artistic talents in Cambodia, the competition welcomed art enthusiasts at all levels, providing plenty of support for beginners and hobbyists with knowledge sharing sessions and workshops led by professional artists.

By July 18th, more than 100 contestants had submitted original artworks with the theme of “Cambodia” to the YouAdMe digital platform. Friends and families of contestants as well as other platform users voted for artworks that they felt was most representative of Cambodia. Within two weeks, 20 finalists were shortlisted for a semi-final voting round to select the top 10 finalists that would enter the final live art battle.

The theme of the art battle was “Cambodia, Colourful, Celebration”. On August 14th, the finalists were given an hour and a half to produce winning artworks against the backdrop of live music helmed by DJ Brandon Perez. The lively and engaging environment with just the right colours, lighting, sound and arrangement inspired and stimulated contestants’ creativity.

At the end of the day, the five judges—YouAdMe Chief Commercial Officer Zhi Ying Chai, MSQM ZTH Managing Director Pheap Horng, Capri by Frasers General Manager Roger Dai, YouAdMe Art Creator Mark Jefferson Huang, and Bong the Gallery Founder Alexandre Barthelemy—selected the three winning artworks and presented the awards. 

Choosing the winners was a tough call. The judges voted for their favourite contestants based on creativity, skills and techniques, and relevancy to the theme.

Hanna, the winner, stood out with her representation of an “Apsara”, a celestial being that figures prominently in Buddhist culture, being surrounded by multiple unique Cambodian elements including Angkor Wat and the national flag.

Coming in second, Cambodian artist Roth painted a “Yark” partially submerged in water surrounded by lotus leaves. The Yark is a legendary creature in Cambodia that is said to protect farmers’ livelihood by safeguarding Cambodia’s water supply. 

Sokheng rounded up top three with the painting of a buffalo inspired by childhood memories. Born and bred Phnom Penh, he cherished the times he traveled to paddy fields on the outskirts of the city and sat on buffalos.

The winning artworks and other final round entries stand the chance to be exhibited at a physical gallery at global hospitality operator Frasers Hospitality’s Capri by Frasers property opening in October in the heart of Phnom Penh.