What is the Art Exhibit about Landmines in Cambodia?

Although Cambodia remains one of the countries most affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), significant progress has been made in addressing the problem since mine clearance activities began more than 15 years ago. Casualty rates are dropping, the government has integrated mine action into its poverty eradication strategy, and national mine clearance standards were created to make clearance operations safer and more effective. However, landmines and ERW continue to severely affect Cambodia’s development by denying Cambodians access to land that can be used for basic activities like growing food, building houses and schools, and constructing roads.

To celebrate the achievements in Cambodian mine action and to acknowledge the challenges that remain, the Cambodian Mine Action Art Project will engage Cambodian artists from a variety of backgrounds to present these concepts in new and innovative ways. By meeting with people living on mined and cleared land, survivors, deminers, and others working in the mine action sector, the artists will develop a deeper understanding of the situation, and then present their interpretation of the issues through sophisticated artwork.

This year presents a great opportunity to bring the Cambodian mine action community together to reflect on these issues because it marks the ten-year anniversary of the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty (commonly known as the Ottawa Convention). The exhibit will open in Cambodia this October, then travel within Cambodia before ending up at the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty that will take place this December in Colombia, giving people around the world the opportunity to see the issue through the eyes of Cambodians.