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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Paul Selvaraj Abisheganaden (b. 27 March 1914, Penang, Straits Settlements–d. 31 August 2011, Singapore) was a musician and conductor, who was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1986. Born in Penang, Abisheganaden came to Singapore in 1916 at the age of two, when ...

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 ...

Yeh Tsung (b. 17 May 1950, Shanghai, China–), better known as Tsung Yeh, has been the music director of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) since 2002. Currently also the music director of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra in the United States (US), Yeh is the ...

David Lim Kim San (b. 7 May 1933, Singapore–) has a diverse career in music which spanned over four decades, including educator, administrator, producer, advocate, vocalist and conductor. Lim’s contribution to the school band and choral movements began in the 1960s ...

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 ...

Leong Yoon Pin (b. 5 August 1931, Singapore–d. 13 April 2011, Singapore) was a composer, conductor and educator. Described as the doyen of Singapore composers, Leong was well known for his choral compositions, many of which were locally commissioned and performed ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

Phan Wait Hong (潘月红) (b. 1914, Shanghai, China–d. 1 September 2016, Singapore) is a key figure in the history of Beijing opera in Singapore. She came to Singapore from Shanghai at the age of 14 and rose to become a lead actress in a professional company that toured ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Lim Tze Peng (林子平) (b. 28 September 1921, Singapore–) is an artist, and a winner of the Cultural Medallion in 2003. Self-taught, Lim started painting in the 1950s when he was a teacher in Xin Min School. Having a strong foundation in Chinese philosophy, art and ...