Because we’re set up in Cambodia, it’s good for us to be able to find out what art and design events are taking place right around this part of the world. It’s been difficult to find exceptional editorial on the design and art scenes here, due to, I feel, the co-opting of it by people who have money to spend and ‘do good’ or whatever and ‘build up’ something that is not needing to be ‘built up.’ Arrogance of the West has quashed a motivation to make, make the things that are made naturally, so as to chase after NGO dollars. This is too bad. We want to highlight things that are _not_ those. Let’s discover.

Besides a call for submissions of artwork for DESK, which is here, this website can be a place for DK to share with others your art. What you find interesting to look at, right here in this region. What you þfeel has value, what matters because you feel it matters. Try not to copy Western art; just show us what you feel and see in an everyday manner, in a way that feels natural for you. This is not a place to pretend, or put together something perfect-looking. Rather, we want the honest. The real, and the right here, right now kind of stuff that is put together by people who still care about making, and the feeling we get when we can share something we feel, ‘I made this!’ Send us something.

What constitutes strong writing? What makes it worth reading and giving our attention and time to? We want to curate editorial here that we feel is not only well-informed, but has taken an interest in more than one viewpoint. That is to say, there ought to be depth in things that are written that we want to share here as a kind of showcase of what feels pertinent, and meaningful. This is the era of AI slop and we feel, here at DESK, there’s something to be said about artful writing that is much more than quickly spit out by machines and human takes on things that may be biased, flawed or weird, but that are for sure human. And trying to be their best.

In Design Kompany’s view, ‘art’ is something that one can experience and feel, intrinsically, moved by. This happens for lots of reasons, sometimes it’s just pretty, or shocking or it creates a kind of response because the person who is looking at it can feel a connection. Resonance, and also, the way it has been created. Is there a solid concept? Is there mastery of technique? We are looking for ‘art’ that isn’t just bloated because someone rich or connected to an institution said it is ‘art.’ We want to find art that speaks to us, personally, and says something we find noteworthy, remarkable, and unique.