The Cultural Medallion honours individuals who have achieved excellence in the fields of literary arts, performing arts, visual arts and film, and contributed to Singapore’s cultural environment. The award is conferred by the president of Singapore and administered ...

Lim Hung Chang (林汉精 ; b. 17 October 1949, Singapore– ), better known by his pseudonym Lin Gao (林高), is one of the leading figures in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore. He has used various pen names, such as Lin Yifei (林一飞), Sanmuzi (三木子) and Lin Jingshan ...

Lee Tzu Pheng (b. 13 May 1946, Singapore–) is one of Singapore’s distinguished poets. A retired university lecturer, she has published in anthologies and journals internationally. Her three volumes of poetry, Prospect of a Drowning (1980), Against the Next Wave ...

Edwin Nadason Thumboo (b. 22 November 1933, Singapore–), Emeritus Professor at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, is widely regarded as the unofficial poet laureate of Singapore. He is best known for writing on national ...

Wong Yoon Wah (b. 13 August 1941, Perak, Malaysia–) is one of the few Singaporeans who excel as an international poet, critic and scholar. Prolific in both creative and academic writing, Wong has published more than 20 collections of prose, poetry, and academic ...

Chong Fah Cheong (b. 20 January 1946, Singapore–) is a self-taught sculptor who is locally and internationally recognised for his iconic sculptures that reflect his whimsical disposition. Considered one of Singapore’s pioneer sculptors, Chong currently resides ...

Abdul Ghani Abdul Hamid (b. 13 April 1933, Singapore–d. 13 April 2014, Singapore) was an award-winning writer, poet and artist. Writing primarily in Malay, A. Ghani Hamid, as he was commonly known, had hundreds of poems, short stories, essays, newspaper articles ...

Mohamed Latiff Mohamed (b. 20 March 1950, Singapore–d. 13 October 2022, Australia) was a prolific poet and writer in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. A teacher by training, he was best known for his works about the struggles of the Malay community in post-independence ...

S. Varathan (b. 22 February 1934, Singapore –), recipient of the National Arts Council Cultural Medallion in 1984, has played an active role in the local Tamil drama scene as an artiste, director, founder, producer, writer and researcher.

Teo Eng Seng (张永生) (b. 14 December 1938, Singapore–) was a recipient of the Cultural Medallion in 1986 for his contributions to visual arts. In 1960, The Singapore Free Press described Teo as “a youth who holds the record of being the first schoolboy in Singapore ...

Alexander S. Abisheganaden (b. 31 January 1926, Singapore–) is among the most prominent guitarists in Singapore. A recipient of the Cultural Medallion for music in 1988, Abisheganaden has dedicated much of his life to teaching and popularising guitar playing. Although ...

Wee Beng Chong (黄明宗; Huang Mingzong) (b. 22 November 1938, Singapore–), a renowned artist, was one of the first recipients of the Cultural Medallion when it was established in 1979. Among the most versatile artists in Singapore, Wee has done sculpture, Chinese ...

Tan Swie Hian (b. 5 May 1943, Pulau Halang, Indonesia–) is a multidisciplinary Singaporean artist known for his poetry, novels, paintings, calligraphy and sculptures. A highly esteemed artist, Tan has received multiple accolades both locally and internationally ...

Established in 1949, The Singapore Art Society (SAS) is considered the first multicultural art society in Singapore. The society aims to foster the practice and appreciation of art in Singapore. SAS organises regular art exhibitions and overseas painting tours. ...

Muhammad Ariff Ahmad (b. 6 December 1924, Singapore–23 March 2016, Singapore), also known as Mas, was an award-winning writer, editor and lecturer. A founding member of the Malay literary club, Angkatan Sasterawan ’50 (Asas ’50), he was a prominent expert and activist ...

Isa Kamari (b. 1960, Singapore–) is a prominent figure in Singapore’s Malay literary scene. He has gained critical acclaim for many of his works, which range from novels and short stories to poetry and essays. He is also a musician, and has crafted scripts for ...

Suratman Markasan (b. 29 December 1930, Singapore– ) is a prolific poet, novelist and respected literary pioneer in Singapore. His literary career spans from the early 1950s to the present. The numerous awards he has received include: the Southeast Asian Writers ...

M. Balakrishnan (b. 18 September 1938, Singapore–), or Mayandiambalam Balakrishnan, is a prominent author popularly known by his pen name – Ma Ilangkannan. He was the first Tamil writer to receive the South East Asian Writers Award in 1982, and was awarded the ...

Goh Poh Seng (b. 1936, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya–d.10 January 2010, Vancouver, Canada) was a physician, poet, laureate, award-winning writer and entrepreneur. He played an active role in the arts scene of post-independence Singapore. Goh was a pioneer of local English ...

Ong Keng Sen (b. 1964, Singapore–), the critically acclaimed artistic director of TheatreWorks, a local theatre company, is best known for his intercultural Shakespeare-inspired trilogy of works – Lear, Desdemona and Search: Hamlet. He was the artistic director ...