Alive Exhibition Directed by Rithy Panh

“Every brick and wall of this center stands against forgetting,” said Rithy Panh, Co-Founder of the Bophana Center and Creative Director of the exhibition. “By dedicating these floors to ALIVE, we affirm that remembrance is not only an act of resistance, but a foundation of democracy.”

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Phnom Penh (April 17, 1975), the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center today announced the upcoming launch of ALIVE, a landmark exhibition by internationally acclaimed Cambodian artist Kim Hak, under the creative direction of Rithy Panh and curated by Moeng Meta. The exhibition opens to the public on Saturday, 18 October 2025, and runs through 15 November 2025.

Spanning the ground and second floors of the Bophana Center, with selected works integrated within the first-floor library, marking a significant expansion of the center’s capacity for major contemporary and historical exhibitions.

This collaboration between Kim Hak, Bophana Center, and Rei Foundation Limited reflects a shared commitment to remembrance, resilience, and the power of storytelling through art. By connecting historical commemoration with artistic reflection, this exhibition offers a universal visual language that can amplify the messages of memory and hope, transforming history into a living dialogue between generations and across communities.

A Landmark Homecoming of Memory

The ALIVE exhibition presents a deeply personal and collective story of survival and continuity. Over more than a decade, Kim Hak has documented the intimate objects that people hid, carried, and kept as they survived the Khmer Rouge regime — small, ordinary possessions that became “vessels for memory.” From photographs and kettles to family heirlooms and clothing, some of these objects travelled across the world with the diaspora, while others remained in Cambodia, safeguarded by those who stayed. Their gathering in Phnom Penh completes a powerful circle of remembrance, reuniting the nation with its dispersed fragments of history.

The exhibition gathers together, for the first time, the four chapters of ALIVE — from Cambodia (Alive I), Australia (Alive II), New Zealand (Alive III), and Japan (Alive IV) — offering a comprehensive view of Cambodia’s intertwined histories of survival, migration, and return.

“This exhibition is about the quiet courage of those who carried pieces of Cambodia with them — sometimes hidden, sometimes buried — so that their memories could live,” said Kim Hak, artist and creator of ALIVE. “Bringing these stories home is both an artistic and emotional return.”

Bophana’s New Chapter: Memory as a National Space

Hosting ALIVE marks a bold institutional step for the Bophana Center. The conversion of its spaces into a major exhibition environment demonstrates the Center’s commitment to expanding its role from an audiovisual archive to a dynamic, public-facing cultural hub. This transformation physically embodies Bophana’s founding mission — to restore remembrance as a civic duty and counter historical amnesia.

As the Center expands its capacity for large-scale exhibitions, ALIVE becomes a symbol of how Cambodia’s cultural institutions are reclaiming history through dialogue, education, and art. The newly adapted spaces at Bophana reaffirm its role as a living platform for memory, artistic exchange, and national reflection.

A Partnership Rooted in Memory and Development

The ALIVE exhibition is made possible through a long-term partnership with Rei Foundation Limited, a philanthropic organisation committed to social change through innovation. Rei Foundation has supported ALIVE since its early phases in New Zealand and Japan, and continues to collaborate with Bophana on initiatives such as Acts of Memory, a documentary project capturing survivor testimonies across the Cambodian diaspora.

According to Reiko Fukutake, Executive Director, Rei Foundation Limited: “We believe that ALIVE allows audiences to engage in new conversations about the diverse experiences during and in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime. It is the hope of Rei Foundation Limited that these conversations help us all move towards a world of greater understanding and acceptance across physical and cultural boundaries.”

Curated for Cambodia, by Cambodia

As Creative Director, Rithy Panh has guided the exhibition’s conceptual framing and visual narrative, marrying the artistic narratives of ALIVE with Bophana’s broader mission to transform personal memory into collective history.

The exhibition is curated by Moeng Meta, whose inclusive approach and deep connection to local audiences ensure that ALIVE is a distinctly Cambodian conversation between generations.

“Our goal was to let these objects speak directly to young Cambodians who may not have lived the history but still carry its legacy,” said Meta. “It’s about reclaiming history through empathy.”

Public Programme

ALIVE will be accompanied by a dynamic public program designed to foster learning, reflection, and dialogue across generations. The educational initiative, led by the curatorial team, includes creative learning activities for students, a visual strategy thinking session, and a series of talk sessions featuring the artist, historian Keo Duong, and local community voices. A new documentary film about Kim Hak, Embers of Memory, directed and edited by Rithy Panh and produced by the Bophana Center, offers audiences an intimate look at the artist and his reflections on history.

Guided exhibition walk-throughs with the curatorial team will also be available for schools, universities, and other interested institutions throughout the exhibition period.

About ALIVE

ALIVE is a long-term, ongoing photography project that began in Battambang in 2014 and has since evolved through international chapters in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Each chapter explores the memories embedded in everyday objects that survived Cambodia’s turbulent past. The Phnom Penh exhibition brings these narratives together in one place for the first time, featuring large-scale photographs and selected original objects that were hidden, preserved, or carried through generations. The exhibition transforms private acts of survival into a collective story.

About Bophana Center

Founded in 2006 by renowned filmmaker Rithy Panh and Ieu Pannakar, the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center is dedicated to restoring Cambodia’s audiovisual heritage and preserving collective memory. Named after Bophana, a young woman executed at S-21 for her defiant letters of love and resistance, the Center stands as a living monument to the power of remembrance. Bophana is a member of the International Federation of Television Archives (FIAT) and the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), ensuring world-class preservation and exhibition standards.

Media Contact

For press inquiries, interviews, or image requests:

📧 [email protected]

🌐 www.kimhak.com/works/alive