A cross-cultural concert tour in Cambodia last December has turned into a cross-border fiasco, with artists and labourers maintaining that they have yet to receive thousands of dollars in payment a year after the event.
Called Fondamentus, the two-week contemporary and classical music tour spanned stops in Yangon, Mandalay and Siem Reap on December 5 and 6 last year.
It employed more than 50 performers and contractors, most of whom received partial payment before the Cambodia performance, but who are still owed a total of more than $700,000 in wages, participants said.
The event, which had an operating budget of $1.1 million, was funded by French organisation Khloros Concert and endorsed by UNESCO and the French embassy in Cambodia.
“In the beginning, we thought it was a fantastic occasion, because there was so much support, but later on, it soon became obvious that it was going to be a huge problem,” said Agnes Pyka, artistic director of Des Equilibres ensemble, who are owed $50,000.
“A lot of us are in financial trouble . . . but it’s also a disaster for relations between France and Cambodia.”
The tour coincided with the 20th anniversary of the creation of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding of Angkor Wat and the 10th anniversary of the designation of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, one of the performing groups, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage as classified by UNESCO.
It was also the first time that the Cambodian government has authorised the use of Angkor Wat’s first floor for any public function.
“We are very upset about this situation,” said Prince Tesso Sisowath, private secretary of Princess Bopha Devi, who heads the Royal Ballet. “This was supposed to be a celebration of Cambodian culture but it has turned for the worse and has left some people bankrupt.”
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is owed $15,000 for their performance, Sisowath added.
A hotel spokesman also confirmed that the Sofitel’s Siem Reap branch, where the performers and guests stayed over the concert days, was not paid a “significant amount of money”.
Monday, December 22, 2014
follows Angkor
A cross-cultural concert tour in Cambodia last December has turned into a cross-border fiasco, with artists and labourers maintaining that they have yet to receive thousands of dollars in payment a year after the event.
Called Fondamentus, the two-week contemporary and classical music tour spanned stops in Yangon, Mandalay and Siem Reap on December 5 and 6 last year.
It employed more than 50 performers and contractors, most of whom received partial payment before the Cambodia performance, but who are still owed a total of more than $700,000 in wages, participants said.
The event, which had an operating budget of $1.1 million, was funded by French organisation Khloros Concert and endorsed by UNESCO and the French embassy in Cambodia.
“In the beginning, we thought it was a fantastic occasion, because there was so much support, but later on, it soon became obvious that it was going to be a huge problem,” said Agnes Pyka, artistic director of Des Equilibres ensemble, who are owed $50,000.
“A lot of us are in financial trouble . . . but it’s also a disaster for relations between France and Cambodia.”
The tour coincided with the 20th anniversary of the creation of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding of Angkor Wat and the 10th anniversary of the designation of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, one of the performing groups, as an Intangible Cultural Heritage as classified by UNESCO.
It was also the first time that the Cambodian government has authorised the use of Angkor Wat’s first floor for any public function.
“We are very upset about this situation,” said Prince Tesso Sisowath, private secretary of Princess Bopha Devi, who heads the Royal Ballet. “This was supposed to be a celebration of Cambodian culture but it has turned for the worse and has left some people bankrupt.”
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is owed $15,000 for their performance, Sisowath added.
A hotel spokesman also confirmed that the Sofitel’s Siem Reap branch, where the performers and guests stayed over the concert days, was not paid a “significant amount of money”.
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