Professionismo e sussistenza : il lavoro musicale tra turismo di massa e progetti di sviluppo nella provincia cambogiana di Siem Reap

This article examines the relationship between the expansion of mass tourism and the paradigm shifts that have occurred in the interventions of the main Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the arts and music sector in Cambodia. Against the theoretical background of Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan’s methodological reflections on the study of development projects, the paper describes the process of negotiation that takes place between development professionals and the recipients of their projects. Describing programmes implemented over the last decade, the article shows how the expansion of tourism has been taken by NGOs as an opportunity to shift interest from reconstruction and arts revival projects to plans to professionalise artists. What emerges is how a neo-liberal logic has taken hold in arts organisations, favouring policies that turn artists into self-entrepreneurs capable of creating employment opportunities for themselves. However, this perspective clashes with the economic logic of subsistence prevalent among the beneficiaries of the programmes, who are reluctant to embrace the concept of musical professionalism, preferring instead food security objectives and a general work eclecticism.