Chetra Chap

Renowned Cambodian-American Composer Urges Artists to Listen to Their Inner Voices

Dr. Chinary Ung is an internationally-celebrated composer who has recently earned one of the highest honors in the United States, a lifetime membership to the A

Cambodian-American Composer Receives High Honor

The American Academy of Arts and Letters, founded in 1898, is one of the most respected honor societies in the United States. With only 250 members, the society is made up of leading architects, artists, composers, and writers who administer 70 awards and prizes to "foster, assist, and sustain excel

Cambodian American Fighter-Artist Lives Strong Woman Ideal

Savannahry Em’s superpower is her right hand. She uses it to knock out martial arts opponents and she uses it to punch above her weight as a multimedia graphic artist. The 27-year-old, Cambodian-American mixed martial artist is also an accomplished illustrator. She dedicates her fighting and art to

'Letters From Home' Helps Actress Discover Her Identity

Children of immigrants, who are born in United States, often struggle to understand their own identity. A Cambodian-American actress is using her art to explore her roots through a very personal story. VOA’sChetra Chap reports.

Saving Cambodian Cooking from Extinction

Cambodian cuisine, often overshadowed by its similar Thai and Vietnamese counterparts, is relatively unknown to the world in part because of its violent history. But a Cambodian chef is working to change that. VOA's Chetra Chap reports.

Cambodian-American Fighter Punching for the Top

An MMA fighter of Cambodian decent has never set her foot in her mother’s homeland, but now she is using her fighting career to reconnect with the country that her mother told her about when she was a child. VOA’s Chetra Chap reports.

Self-Taught Chef Turned Cambodian Cuisine Ambassador

Ratanak Ros, or Chef Nak, dedicates her life to preserving and promoting Cambodian cuisine. The 34-year-old self-taught chef, originally from the capital city of Phnom Penh, discovered her passion for cooking as a child. Now she’s an ambassador for Cambodian flavors, and works with the Ministry of T

Ethical AI Learns Human Rights Framework

Artificial intelligence or AI, is broadly defined as the technology that allows machines to do tasks that only humans have done in the past. However, as that technology continues to advance there is a growing conversation about ensuring that machines aren't just making decisions, but making ethical

Cambodian Dance Heals Victims of Forced Marriage

Great art can change the world. It can show us a moment in time, and it can even help heal profound pain and suffering. That's how one Cambodian dancer is using it. Through dance, she's telling the story of forced marriage during the Khmer Rouge regime. VOA's Chetra Chap reports.

Cambodian Musicians Heal Through Music

The power of music and art to influence generations is well documented, and that's sometimes why authoritarian regimes tend to silence artists. The brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia is no different and a huge percentage of Cambodia's musicians and artists were killed during the Pol Pot Regime. B

Playwright Nurtures Spoken Theater to Its Social Role

Sopheak Soung is among the few Cambodian playwrights who are working to keep one of Cambodia’s oldest art forms, “Lakhorn Niyeay,” alive. Originally from the southeastern province of Kandal, the 41-year-old artist moved to Phnom Penh in 1996 to study “Lakhorn Niyeay,” a form of spoken theater. Today

Cambodian Masked Dance Comes to DC

The near extinct masked dance of Lakhon Khol was on display recently, thousands of miles away from its birthplace in Cambodia. A group of devoted amateurs brought the ancient dance to the Washington metropolitan. VOA Khmer's Chetra Chap reports.

Young Cambodian Dropout Finds Success in Arts

Sievphin Chong, 24, chose an unconventional career path for a Cambodian. After growing up in the remote northeastern provinces of Steung Treng and Ratanakiri, Sievphin moved to Phnom Penh to study design at university. But that was not to be once Sievphin found his passion and an outlet for his crea

Singer-Composer Bosba Panh to Research Cambodian Ensemble

Bosba Panh began singing when she was seven. She began composing as a teenager mixing classical Cambodian and Western music. And now as an adult at age 22, her interest shifts to understanding the Cambodian music through academic research. Bosba’s dedication to the arts from a very young age makes h

Cambodian refugee Janet Seng thrives in America

Janet Seng, 49, came to the U.S. in 1981 from Cambodia as a teenager. She attended high school, college and graduate school in the U.S. Seng earned a Masters Degree in Business Management and currently works as a Financial Analyst. She's also a social worker helping new immigrants from Cambodia, som

Experts Tout Benefits of AI, Machine Learning in Global Health Crisis

Cambodian-American Movie Brings Back Hope, Memories of Pre-Khmer Rouge Era

The movie, “In the Life of Music”, which features the Sisamouth classic “Champa Battambang”, screened in Virginia on Thursday to a crowded hall of several hundred viewers.

Documentary Filmmaker Focuses on Cambodia’s Martial Art

Canadian filmmakers Mark Bochsler and Sandra Leuba talk with VOA Khmer’s Chetra Chap about the making of “Surviving Bokator” and the place of bokator in Cambodian culture and today’s Cambodia.

Documentary Film on Cambodian Martial Art ‘Bokator’ to Screen in Philadelphia

Veteran Cambodian Artists to Tour US East Coast Cities