PHNOM PENH: On 23 April 2022, Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh, in partnership with Tribe Art Cambodia, will host the first St. George’s Day Ball in the Regency Ballroom to raise funds for the Terry Mcllkenny Foundation.

The Terry McIlkenny Foundation exists to help creative Cambodians achieve their dreams. Nat Di Maggio, the Curator, and his partner Terry traveled to Southeast Asia in 2008 and fell in love with Cambodia, leading to the opening of the Tribe Art Gallery in Siem Reap. After the sudden passing of Terry in 2020, Nat closed the gallery, moved to Phnom Penh, and created the foundation.

The foundation will provide a visual arts scholarship in Terry's name at Phare Ponleu Selpak, which is an internationally renowned art school based in Battambang, Cambodia. The scholarship will be a full two-year program that will include all tuition fees, accommodation, food, and a paid internship. At least one new scholarship per year will be awarded, providing more and more Cambodians with the opportunity to fill the world with their art.

For $115 per person, attendees will have a four-course meal with drinks, and be able to watch a live painting of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, by Carne Griffiths.

Originally from Liverpool, Griffiths graduated from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone in 1995. After completing a one-year KIAD fellowship and moving to London, he served an apprenticeship at the longest-established gold wire embroidery firm in the world, eventually becoming its creative director. He then went on to create intricate designs for the military as well as the film, theater, fashion and advertising industries, where his ‘Red Death Coat’ was featured in The Phantom of the Opera. Since establishing his own studio in 2010, he has exhibited in the UK and overseas, including the Royal Academy, Hong Kong, Milan, Hamburg and Siem Reap. This will be his second time in Cambodia.

For more information on the gala, please call 023 600 1234 or email phnompenh.regency@hyatt.com.