TiSamjort (“Resting Place”) is a Phnom Penh-based collaborative work space, gallery, and short-term residence for artists and cultural practitioners. Founded in 2020 by three visual artists and one culture lover, we envision TiSamjort as a resting place and a meeting space in Cambodia’s capital where people can learn, make art, and feel at home through collective engagement with the arts.

TiSamjort was born out of love for the arts and care for cultural practitioners. We began to recognize a need for a resting place for artists in Phnom Penh after initiating our first project, Nomadix Arts Tour, which brought arts programming to provincial communities throughout Cambodia. When meeting with artists and cultural practitioners in different parts of the country, we commonly heard that some of these cultural enthusiasts have encountered practical and financial barriers to come to join the art seminars, workshops and cultural events which have always been held in the capital. Though we had long hoped to launch a collaborative work space for artists in Phnom Penh, these conversations led us to dream bigger, and to imagine how we might alleviate some of the financial burden for artists seeking to travel from provincial Cambodia into the capital. By creating TiSamjort, we want to encourage provincial artists to not give up, and to know that they have a home in Phnom Penh, as well as a place where friendship, creativity, art-related discussion and inspiration can be found.

Although we cannot anticipate when this pandemic crisis is going to end, we hope to keep TiSamjort alive so that it can continue being a place for community works, artists talks, film screenings, and other arts programming. Since our founding, we have welcomed many groups of Cambodian and international friends to TiSamjort, building lasting connections and memories together. We encourage artists and cultural lovers to visit us and make TiSamjort their home whenever they have events to join in Phnom Penh.