In a year marked by remembrance and reflection for the Cambodian community, Long Beach-based visual artist Sayon Syprasoeuth has created something beautiful, healing, and long overdue: a coloring and learning book designed to connect a new generation of Cambodian-American kids with the culture, history, and imagination of their ancestors.
Released on May 18, 2025, Coloring and Learning about Cambodia in the Arts is now available on Amazon and features hand-drawn illustrations, interactive activities, and online resources that explore Cambodian music, dance, architecture, symbols, and stories — all presented through an accessible, youth-friendly lens.
But this is more than just a coloring book. It’s a cultural bridge.
Published during the 50th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh — when the Khmer Rouge seized Cambodia in April 1975, sparking a genocide that killed nearly two million people and forced thousands to flee their homeland — the book arrives at a time when many Cambodian-American families are looking for meaningful ways to reconnect with their heritage.
“When working with young people, it is heartbreaking to know that they have such a desire to understand their parents’ and grandparents’ history and culture,” says Syprasoeuth. “My hope is that these young people connect with their family history and are able to explore the multiple layers of their identity and find healing.”
That mission is deeply personal. Sayon’s own story mirrors that of so many Cambodians in the diaspora. His family fled the Khmer Rouge and found temporary safety in Thailand’s Aranyuthaya Refugee Camp, where he first used art as a form of survival and self-expression. He arrived in the U.S. at 12 years old — a refugee, a witness, and an artist in the making.
Today, Sayon is a respected interdisciplinary artist whose work has been shown in Cambodia, Berlin, China, and across the U.S. He holds degrees from Cal State Long Beach and Claremont Graduate University, and serves as Program Director at the United Cambodian Community in Long Beach — home to one of the largest Cambodian populations outside of Southeast Asia.
His new book is part educational tool, part love letter to the Khmer spirit.
Each page invites young readers to color, learn, and explore, covering traditional instruments, classical dance poses, and iconic Khmer architecture like Angkor Wat. But just as important, it offers kids — and even their parents — a place to start asking questions, building cultural pride, and piecing together an identity that’s often shaped by silence, survival, and strength.
In a time when so many in the diaspora are searching for connection and meaning, Coloring and Learning about Cambodia in the Arts feels like a gift — not just for kids, but for families, teachers, and anyone who believes in art as a form of cultural memory.
You can find the book now on Amazon, and follow the author’s work on Instagram: @SayonArt
