Cultures of Independence: An Introduction to Cambodian Arts and Culture In The 1950s and 1960s. Cambodia's national development in the first post-colonial years 1953-70 was marked by the emergence and official fostering of new forms of art and culture. Writings of the time, photographs, drawings and recent interviews with some of the major players contribute to this presentation of distinctively Khmer trends in architecture, theatre, film, music, painting and professional education. Together they contribute unique insights into a creative period, which in often forgotten in face of the holocaust which followed. Bilingual in Khmer with some documentation in French.