Stages, Stories and Recognition

What's been happening at Epic Arts

August took Epic Arts to Seoul, to school halls in Kampot and to conversations that matter. Our dancers performed on the international stage at KIADA, representing Cambodia in front of artists from across the world. Back home, young people with disabilities shared their experiences of climate change at Moha Samki Primary School, speaking to 124 students, teachers and local authorities about what it means to face floods, extreme heat and inaccessible evacuation routes. Our teachers trained 46 education officials and school principals on behaviour management and inclusive classroom practice. Child protection networks were strengthened, with 23 community actors equipped with stronger knowledge of child rights and abuse prevention. And as the month closed, we learned that Epic Arts Dance has been shortlisted for the Zero Project Arts Awards 2027, selected from 615 nominations across 94 countries.

To all our incredible supporters, thank you. Your continued belief in our mission helps us champion a world where every person counts (EPiC).

Inspiring Stories

Confidence in Every Conversation: KimAn's Story

Epic Arts Café became a signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles in October 2025, joining UN Women Cambodia's WEPs Corporate Action Lab alongside organisations including Cambodia Airports, Prudential and Rosewood. The issue we chose to work on says everything about our values: creating more accessible leadership pathways for women with disabilities.

It's a challenge grounded in a striking reality. Already, 80% of Café staff see themselves as leaders- training colleagues, managing operations and solving problems. WEPsCAL is helping us ensure the pathways to formal leadership are as accessible as the work itself.

When UN Women visited in July, they saw that work in action, including our various English classes, co-designed with staff rather than created for them.

For KimAn, Epic Arts Café Supervisor, those classes have changed how she does her job and how she moves through her day.

"The English classes have helped me a lot at work. When guests have problems, I can help them. When there is a problem with the service, I feel much more confident talking to guests and helping resolve the issue."

Sharing her story with UN Women mattered too. "I feel very proud to have the opportunity to share my experiences with them and with the people around me."

Her hope is simple: that the classes continue helping her at work and in daily life, making communication easier wherever she goes. Her message to employers everywhere is equally direct: "Be more open-minded and willing to learn and understand each other, including people who have disabilities and those who do not."

When you invest in people, they lead.

Events and Performances

A Royal Recognition in Seoul

When Epic Arts Dance took to the stage in Seoul to perform Buffalo Boy at KIADA 2026, they weren't performing alone. In the audience was His Excellency Khoun Phonrattanak, Ambassador of Cambodia to the Republic of Korea.

After the performance, the Ambassador presented flowers to dancers Thoeun and Sann in appreciation of their work, a moment that meant a great deal to both of them.

For two Cambodian artists with disabilities performing their stories on an international stage, being seen and celebrated by their country's ambassador was a powerful reminder of what inclusive arts can achieve. Not just connection across borders, but recognition at home.

Thank you to His Excellency and the Embassy of Cambodia in Seoul for your support.

Inclusive Arts

Buffalo Boy Goes to Seoul

Epic Arts Dance travelled to Seoul, South Korea, to perform at KIADA, the Korea International Accessible Dance Festival, established in 2016 as the world's first comprehensive disability dance festival. We were the only Cambodian artists at the festival.

The piece we performed was Buffalo Boy, and for our dancer Thoeun, it was personal. The performance tells the story of a man with cerebral palsy kept isolated from the world, made to stay with the buffalo, who leaves home in pursuit of being heard. It is Thoeun's own story, brought to life through contemporary dance and immersive projection. When the Seoul audience watched, many were moved to tears.

"What made me most proud was being able to share our own true stories with everyone who attended," Thoeun reflects.

For our dancer Sann, who is Deaf, KIADA offered something equally powerful- a room full of people who understood.

"They supported and encouraged one another and communicated using sign language, as some of the artists were also Deaf like me. The artists with intellectual disabilities also had many different talents and unique skills. Seeing their abilities and creativity was very inspiring."

Sann's proudest moment? Leading a workshop sharing movements inspired by Buffalo Boy with artists from across the region. He also picked up International Sign Language along the way.

Both dancers came home with the same message for young Cambodians with disabilities who dream of performing: "Believe in yourself, work hard and keep practicing different skills with patience and determination."

Impact Update

When Deaf Voices Shape the Conversation

Inclusive tourism doesn't happen by accident. It happens when the right people are in the room and this month at Epic Arts Café, they were.

Tatiana, a Deaf researcher, is travelling the world exploring how tourism can become more accessible for Deaf travellers. As part of her journey she visited Epic Arts Café, sitting down with seven of our Deaf staff to lead a discussion about what inclusive tourism looks and feels like from the inside, what works, what's missing and how spaces like ours can become more welcoming for Deaf travellers everywhere.

That discussion was possible because of what Epic Arts Café already is: an inclusive workplace where Deaf staff, staff with disabilities and staff without disabilities work alongside one another, leading, training, managing and solving problems every day. When a researcher wants to understand what Deaf-inclusive hospitality looks like in practice, they come here because our staff are the experts.

Also joining the visit was Nolasco from Spain, returning to Epic Arts Café for the first time in 12 years. His return is its own kind of testament to the impression that inclusive workplaces leave on the people who encounter them.

Inclusive tourism starts with spaces like this. And spaces like this start with the belief that every person counts.