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. ...

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 ...

The Arts Housing Scheme is a project under the National Arts Council (NAC). It was introduced in 1985 by the former Ministry of Community Development to support local artists and arts activities. Recognising the scarcity and high cost of land in Singapore, the ...

Sabri Buang (b. 1964, Singapore–d. 26 March 2021) is both a writer and director of theatre and television in Singapore and abroad. In his earlier days, Sabri acted in Malay dramas for both theatre and television, and has built up a body of directorial works in ...

Formal art and music education programmes in Singapore were established by the British colonial government in the 1920s and ’30s respectively. Private Chinese-medium schools also offered art education through courses run by professional artists. After Singapore ...

S. Chandrasekaran (b. 29 November 1959, Singapore–) is a visual artist who works across different disciplines and mediums. He is known for the intense physical nature of his performances and the incorporation of elements from the biological sciences into his p ...

Art in Transit is a programme in which artworks are seamlessly integrated within the environs of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations. Approved by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 1997, the programme was first unveiled to the public in 2003.

The Singapore International Festival of Arts is an annual highlight of Singapore’s cultural calendar. It began as the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1977 and was a biennial event up till 1999. Started at a time when Singapore was often called a “cultural desert”, ...

Bound by Queen Street, Bras Basah Road and Waterloo Street, the former building of the boys’ school, St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), was completed in 1867. The school premises comprised a cluster of blocks built between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, featuring ...

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 ...

Folk singer-songwriter Art Fazil is often regarded as Singapore’s Bob Dylan. Like Dylan, he is known for singing socially conscious songs accompanied by the acoustic guitar and harmonica. Art writes and sings both Malay and English songs, and has written many songs ...

Choy Weng Yang (b. 1936, Singapore–) is an artist, curator, art writer and educator. As one of Singapore’s prominent second-generation artists, Choy’s works embody a distinctive style of abstract expressionism and exploration of colours. He was part of the pioneering ...

Dondang sayang is a traditional poetic art form mainly associated with the Malay and Peranakan (Straits Chinese) communities in Singapore and Malaysia. The term is derived from the Malay words dondang or dendang, meaning “to sing”, and sayang, which encompasses ...

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 ...

Ng Eng Teng (b. 12 July 1934, Singapore–d. 4 November 2001, Singapore) was a sculptor and winner of the Cultural Medallion in visual arts in 1981. He learned painting under first-generation masters such as Georgette Chen and Liu Kang, and furthered his studies ...

Snake charmers are street performers who “hypnotise” and coax their snakes to “dance” and sway to the music they play on their flutes. Snake charming is a traditional Indian folk art. In Singapore, this art is mainly performed by Indians although some Malays and ...

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 ...

Goh Ee Choo (b. 12 December 1962, Singapore–) is an established Singaporean contemporary artist who uses multiple mediums in his work. He has won many awards, among them the Jurors’ Choice in the Philip Morris Singapore Art Awards, and the Honourable Mention at ...

Eminent watercolourist Ong Kim Seng (b. 10 June 1945, Singapore–) is the former president of the Singapore Watercolour Society (1991 to 2001), a Cultural Medallion winner (Visual Art) in 1990, and winner of six awards from the prestigious American Watercolour Society. ...

The dragon dance, also known as longwu (龙舞) or longdeng (龙灯), is a traditional Chinese dance performance involving a team of performers using poles to rhythmically move a dragon prop. The dance is performed during Chinese festive celebrations such as Lunar New ...