A master ceramicist who survived the pogrom on artists during the Cambodian Genocide will be traveling to Long Beach to help pass on his art form to a new generation.
During the annual Cambodia Town Parade & Festival, Yary Livan will be exhibiting and selling his works at the Manzanar Gamboa Theater. Livan will also be leading a demonstration on creating with clay during the exhibit, followed the next day by an intimate workshop on carving ceramic tiles at a private location in Long Beach.
Livan is one of only three master ceramicists known to have survived Pol Pot’s genocidal regime. Livan began studying art and ceramics at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh in 1971, where he focused on traditional Khmer ornamentation, according to a biography available through the National Endowment for the Arts.
When the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, Livan was able to escape the fate of his fellow artists and intellectuals, who were wiped out en masse, by leveraging his knowledge. Livan knew how to create wood kilns, which were necessary even during the regime. Under Khmer Rouge oppression, Livan’s kilns contained roof tiles instead of the pieces of art he would later become renowned for.
After spending the ‘80s and ‘90s in different refugee camps, Livan was able to gain political asylum in the United States in 2001, where he eventually settled down as a professor in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Local ceramicist Vanndearlyn Vong reached out to Livan on Facebook while researching Khmer ceramics, and the two spoke on the phone for the first time in late 2021. The two ceramic artists stayed in contact, and in the summer of 2022 Vong traveled to Lowell, Massachusetts to study under Livan for two weeks.
“It was very valuable for me to learn those traditional techniques and nowadays I’m able to recognize the patterns and motifs when I see it on Khmer art, whether it’s a textile or a metal piece,” Vong said. “I can understand them […] and how they made those.”
Vong spearheaded the efforts to bring Livan to Long Beach to share his crafts during the Cambodia Town Parade & Festival, which is organized by Cambodia Town Inc. and Long Beach Phnom Penh Sister Cities, and sponsored by the Port of Long Beach.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by Vong and other organizers to help cover the costs of Livan’s travel to and work in Long Beach. As of April 4, the fundraiser has raised $1,650 of its $3,000 goal. Any extra funds raised will go towards bringing Livan back to Long Beach for more teaching opportunities in the future.
“It was really special to learn from him,” Vong said. “Especially because of it being so specific to our culture, and that kind of […] ceramics education and information is not available in California.”
Livan’s exhibit will be on display on April 7 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Manzanar Gamboa Theater, located at 1323 Gundry Ave. Spaces for the private tile carving workshop the following day are already full.
