Epic Arts was created in 2001 and is an international, inclusive arts organisation based in Cambodia. They promote the inclusion of people of all abilities and disabilities through the arts. Art is used as a form of expression and empowerment to bring people with and without disabilities together.
What do they do?
With little information about disability available, children with disabilities suffer from a lack of access to education. This is why Epic Arts decided to put in place several projects based in Kampot:
-The Special Education project (SEP) in 2009: based in Kampot, the project offers creative educational programs to children and young people with learning disabilities to give them the opportunity to become active members of society;
-Inclusive Arts Course (IAC) in 2013: The Inclusive Arts Course is a full time, two-year arts training course. Students from the deaf, disabled and non-disabled community study an arts-based education program in Dance, Theatre, Art, Film, Music and Literacy.
The students involved are given a creative voice and seen as people who have significant value. Students learn to believe in their abilities, see the opportunities that are possible for them and develop skills and confidence. For many of these students and their families, this is something they never saw as a possibility.