Many Cambodian Utahns will see Angkor Wat for the first time with this new exhibit

Many people who fled Cambodia in the 1970s, escaping the brutal genocide orchestrated by the Khmer Rouge, have never seen Angkor Wat — the temple complex that has been a constant in the Cambodian identity for 900 years.

A new traveling exhibit, “Angkor: Empire of Cambodia,” on display through April at the Natural History Museum of Utah, is featuring some 120 artifacts from the Natural Museum of Cambodia — and half of them have never been out of Cambodia before.

Those at NHMU are going beyond the usual work of putting artifacts on display and printing explanations of what they are. They are following the current guidelines of museums to “decolonize” museums — by reappraising the role of museums in presenting different cultures. Part of that process led to NHMU to ask input from Utah’s Cambodian community.

“Just to be part of the process, part of the program, the community is so excited,” said Raymond Hour, director of the Utah Cambodian Community Buddhist Temple in West Valley City. Hour received 250 tickets to the exhibition, to give out to members of the community — and they’re nearly all gone, he said.

Surviving a brutal history

Utah’s Cambodian community numbers between 2,000 and 3,000 people, Hour said. “Most of [them] came to the United States as refugees 40 years ago,” Hour said. “The older generation, they probably saw some artwork, Angkor Wat in Cambodia in the old days, but the newer generation like me, [we] haven’t seen it.”

Angkor Wat — the name means “temple city” in Khmer, Cambodia’s native language — was built in the 12th century, originally as a Hindu temple by Emperor Suryavarman II, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, according to History.com. By the end of the century, though, it had become a Buddhist temple.

Today, it’s a draw for tourists, and at more than 400 acres is the largest religious monument in the world.

From 1975 to 1979, Cambodia was dominated by the Khmer Rogue, under the rule of dictator Pol Pot, who ruthlessly carried out what became known as the “Cambodian Genocide.” In Pol Pot’s brutal attempt to remake Cambodia as a Communist agrarian society, more than 2 million people were killed — and many more Cambodians fled the country, becoming refugees around the world.

For Cambodian people who escaped the Khmer Rouge, like Vibol Tiem, the exhibition at NHMU is a way to experience and connect to their culture, a world away in Utah.

For Tiem, a member of Utah’s Cambodian community, the exhibit is a chance to reflect on the painful legacies refugees have fled from.

When the Khmer Rouge took over the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Tiem and his family were forced to evacuate to the countryside. The Pol Pot regime, in its effort to launch “re-education” camps, were targeting intellectuals and others.

“It’s a hard feeling,” Tiem said. “My father got recognized and was taken to be killed right away. The rest of my family, my mom, older sister and four younger brothers were killed in 1977. I am the only one left.”

Tiem called the period the “deadliest” in Cambodia’s history, and said he still has nightmares about it.

“I decided to escape because the injustice and destruction of Cambodia was so bad,” Tiem said. He became a refugee in 1980, he said, because “I didn’t want to live under communism again.”

Tiem was involved in addition to the NHMU exhibition donated by Utah’s Cambodian community: A pagoda, a tiered tower that is generally “an open space used for cultural activities,” Hour said. The estimated cost for the pagoda is $340,000, Hour said.

The community hasn’t been able to raise funds over the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but, is in the process of applying for grants, Hour said.

Tiem helped the architect work on the pagoda’s design before the COVID-19 pandemic, then, as the exhibition’s opening at NHMU drew closer, they picked up the project again.

“We built it for a community gathering,” Tiem said. He says pagodas can be traced back to the “old days’' of Cambodia, and were used as rest stops for travelers between villages. It will be a place meant for all, not just the Cambodian community, he said.

“We give [the museum] the input and they bring the raw materials,” Hour said. “The detail behind it, they don’t know, so for the museum to contact Cambodian people here, [so] they complete the program and incorporate our culture into the program.”

The exhibition’s opening last weekend included cultural performances and lectures from the Cambodian community.

That inclusion, Tiem said, is important for the elderly members of the Cambodian community. “They’re happy to see the building that resembles the temple in Cambodia. It makes them happy, before they pass away. And, it passes on to the next generation of Cambodian-Americans,” Tiem said. “I’m glad they are bringing it in to show the world and at least we can be proud of our ancestors.”

Outside of Western perspectives

Tim Lee, NHMU’s director of exhibits for 20 years, said the museum recognizes the importance of including cultural input in exhibitions like this, to get a more “balanced, local and very honest perspective.”

Decolonization is, Lee said, a “hugely important” topic to museums. “The stories that museums contain are often told through a Western perspective, usually by a white male,” he said. “We see the value of diversifying that perspective, and making sure the stories are told by the people that really created them.”

When NHMU officials first visited the California Science Center, who is partnered with Museums Partner (which brings traveling exhibitions to different museums), Lee said they noticed some things.

“We found throughout the exhibit there was an opportunity to shift perspectives,” Lee said.

One of the exhibit’s first panels, Lee said, talked about European discovery — and the exhibit’s original name was “Lost Empire of Cambodia.” Lee said NHMU worked with an exhibit developer to write new panels, with the perspective, Lee said, that “Angkor was never lost.”

The panels, Lee said, speak to what is happening on the local level. “We want to recognize that the Khmer never lost track of it. In fact they used it for religious purposes while they moved away from [Angkor],” he said.

Lee adds that even though the museum has a rich collection of artifacts, the museum is just a guide.

“We’re experts in a lot of things, but not everything,” Lee said. “Through our partnership with our local Cambodian community, we are using their expertise to guide our guests through the journey of discovering Angkor, learning more about this rich culture, and to celebrate the culture we have here in Utah.”

“Angkor: Empire of Cambodia,” a traveling exhibition, will be on display at the Natural History Museum of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, now through April 23, 2023. For hours and ticket information, go to nhmu.utah.edu.