Art for Kep Launches "Ten Boats+": An International Open Call to Transform Kep's Retired Fishing Hulls
- Art for Kep
- 9 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Art for Kep has opened "Ten Boats+," an international call inviting artists, collectives, organizations, and communities to transform ten or more retired wooden fishing boats from Kep into contemporary artworks, ahead of Kep International Art Week — Edition 01, taking place 11–14 December 2026 on Cambodia's southern coast.
Ten wooden hulls, retired by fishermen who can no longer sail them, are about to pass through the hands of some of today's most interesting makers. Ten Boats+ is Art for Kep's first international open call, and the foundation of Kep International Art Week — a new fixture on Cambodia's cultural calendar.
A Boat That Refused to Sink
In a letter addressed "to the makers," Art for Kep and Knai Bang Chatt CEO Jef Moons frames the invitation simply: take one hull, answer it, and return it to the shore as a work that speaks for the coast that made it.
"The hulls we are receiving are not props," the project's founding brief states. "They are documents. Each one carries the handwriting of the family that built it, the water it kept out, the paint it was given when a season was good." The boat, in other words, isn't scenery — it's a co-author.
Two Ways to Answer the Boat
Every participant chooses one of two pathways, and both carry equal weight:
● Keep the Boat — the hull stays whole and is transformed: painted, carved, inlaid, wrapped, rigged, planted, lit, or sounded. Its silhouette should still read as a fishing boat from fifty metres away, even after it's become something else.
● Fully Use the Boat — the hull is opened, dismantled, and re-authored, its timber becoming raw material for a new work. The dismantling itself is treated as part of the piece: carried out at The Yard, with the fishing family present, documented on film, and every plank numbered and honoured in a "Plank Manifest" displayed beside the finished work.
Hybrids of the two are welcome, provided the approach is declared upfront. Neither pathway allows a hull to be cut down for convenience or reduced to flat-sawn panel.
Who Can Apply
Ten Boats+ is structured around four "berth families," each reflecting a different relationship to the coast:
● International (3 berths) — for invited international artists, galleries, and cultural organizations bringing an outside voice to Kep.
● Cambodian (3 berths) — reserved for Cambodian artists and collectives, keeping authorship rooted where the coast lives.
● Community (2 berths) — built with Kep's fishing families, youth groups, and NGOs — the makers of the shore itself.
● Beyond Ten (1+ berths) — one institutional berth held for a museum or foundation partner, with further berths opening as new partners join.
Artists, organizations and NGOs, community groups, and galleries are all eligible to apply — any medium is welcome, as long as the boat remains a genuine co-author of the work rather than a plinth for it.
What Art for Kep Provides
Selected participants receive a retired wooden fishing hull sourced and delivered to The Yard; a production stipend scaled to the work; a residency with room and board during production; curatorial and technical support, including hands from Kep's own boat-builders; and a platform of international press, curator visits, a trilingual catalogue (Khmer, English, French), and a digital archive recording each work's permanent Kep coordinates.
The fleet doesn't disband when the week ends. Selected hulls will remain along the Kep shoreline as a standing outdoor collection cared for by Art for Kep, while other works may travel to museums and biennales — with any resulting sales returning in part to the fishing families and to marine conservation efforts.
Where the Work Will Live
Kep International Art Week uses the shore itself as gallery, with no white cube in sight. The fleet lands across four sites: the 1960s villas and sculpture park of Knai Bang Chatt; the Beach, where the open-air fleet meets the public promenade; The Yard, where dismantling and production take place; and the Sailing Club, anchoring the pier and the water-based works.
How to Apply
The process runs in five steps: a short expression of interest outlining who you are and which pathway you'd take; a curatorial conversation within two weeks; a formal application with references and technical needs; berth confirmation and contract; and finally, production and the Art Week itself.
Timeline:
● August 2026 — Call opens
● September 2026 — Berths confirmed
● November 2026 — Production window
● 11–14 December 2026 — Kep International Art Week, Edition 01
● January 2027 — Afterlife programme begins
Applications can be submitted at artforkep.org/tenboats-anopencallform.
Meet the Project in Person
Art for Kep is holding two public info sessions this month for anyone curious to learn more before applying — artists, makers, galleries, NGOs, and coastal community members alike:
● Phnom Penh — 25 August 2026, 6:00 PM, Sosoro Museum (entrance on Street 102)
● Siem Reap — 27 August 2026, 6:00 PM, Museum of Cambodian Modern Art – SAR
Both sessions are free and open to all.
Answer the Boat
Ten hulls are waiting. If you're an artist, collective, gallery, or community group who wants to help shape Kep's first International Art Week, here's where to start:
● Apply now at artforkep.org/tenboats-anopencallform.
● Come meet the team at the Phnom Penh or Siem Reap info session this month.
● Have a question first? Reach out directly — details below.
Contact
For questions about Ten Boats+ or Kep International Art Week, reach out to:
Ms. Monikeo Kol
Art for Kep
+855 78 888 557
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