|
Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in dance, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and film. It is widely recognized as Singapore's pinnacle arts award. History The award was instituted in March 1979 by Minister for Culture Ong Teng Cheong and administered by the National Arts Council. The awards was given by the Minister for Culture. Since 2006, the award was presented by the President of Singapore instead of the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (previously known as Minister for Culture). On 20 October Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang announced that project grant for the award is revised to S$80,000 upwards from S$50,000, giving recipients better opportunities to create major works.Clara Chow, "SSO co-leader, versatile artist get highest award for the arts", ''The Straits Times'', 21 October 2006 From 2013, in an effort to recognise mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Singapore
The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the Reserves of the Government of Singapore, reserves and the integrity of the Singapore Civil Service, public service. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with the Cabinet of Singapore, Cabinet led by the Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister having the general direction and control of the Government of Singapore, government. The incumbent president is Halimah Yacob, who took office on 14 September 2017. She is also the first female president in the country's history. History The office of the ''President of the Republic of Singapore'' was created on 9 August 1965 when Singapore achieved independence from Malaysia. It replaced the office of Yang di-Pertuan Negara which was created when Singapore attained Self-governance of Singapore, self-governance from the United Kingdom in 1959. The last Yang di-Pertuan Negara, Yusof Ishak, became the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goh Soo Khim
Goh Soo Khim () is a Singaporean ballerina and a doyen in Singapore’s dance scene. She is also the co-founder and artistic director of Singapore Dance Theatre. She is also credited for the development of ballet in Singapore, and for nurturing many successful dancers under her tutelage, to become successful dancers, soloists and even choreographers over the years. Early life Goh was born into a family of well-known dancers and choreographers and received early training at the Singapore Ballet Academy under one of the Academy’s founders, her elder sister Goh Soo Nee (吴素妮), and the other founding directors, Frances Poh and Vernon Martinus. In 1964 Goh furthered her professional training in Australia, as the first Asian to be admitted into the all-white Australian Ballet School in Melbourne. Returning to Singapore upon her graduation from Australian Ballet School, Goh joined her sister as a principal trainer at the Ballet Academy. She was also a principal dancer of the acade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iskandar Jalil
Iskandar Jalil (born 5 January 1940) is a Singapore ceramist. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 1988. Early works Contrary to the famous belief, Iskandar's early works was first made in the teacher training college instead of Japan. The artist describes his early works as "..crude but honest works. They show no philosophy. I didn't think that much about color or ideas when I made them. The philosophy and aesthetics come in later." Career Iskandar grew up at Kampong Chantek at Bukit Timah and studied at Victoria School. He had trained and worked initially as a maths and science teacher. However, his second Colombo Plan scholarship in 1972 brought him to Japan where he was refined his techniques in the fine art of pottery, much appreciated by the Japanese. Thus began his passion for pottery. Since the 1970s, Iskandar had exhibited his work in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Sweden. Besides being a prolific potter, he also influenced young artists throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chua Soo Bin
Chua Soo Bin, also spelt Chua Soo-Bin, (; born 1932) is a Singaporean fine-art photographer and recipient of the Cultural Medallion in 1989. Chua was described by ''The Straits Times'' as "one of the most sought-after commercial photographers" in Singapore. Early life Chua was born 1932 in Singapore. He is the oldest of six children. His father worked at a factory, and his mother was a dressmaker. Chua attended Chong Zhen Primary School, and did not pursue further academic education. He studied art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Career Chua started his career as a photographer in 1950. As an amateur photographer working for an agency, Chua was cited as "the youngest cameraman in Malaya to be awarded the degree of A.R.P.S ssociate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. Chua turned professional in 1972. He served as a judge for the 7th Open Photographic Exhibition organised by the Singapore Art Society, as well as the 40th Singapore International Salon of Photogr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tan Swie Hian
Tan Swie Hian () is a Singaporean multidisciplinary artist known for his contemporary Chinese calligraphy, Chinese poetry and contemporary art sculptures found in Singapore and many parts of the world. Early life Born in Indonesia, Tan migrated to Singapore circa 1946. He grew up with a fluency in Chinese and Malay, and went on to study English and French at Nanyang University. He began his career as a press attaché for the French Embassy in Singapore, after graduating with a degree in English literature from the university. While working as an attaché, he continued pursuing his passion for art. His first foray into the Singapore arts scene was with his first collection of poetry writings titled ''The Giant'' in 1968 and held his first art exhibition at the National Library on Stamford Road in 1973. He also converted his faith to Buddhism that year; his newfound spiritual experience outweighed his passion for the arts that made him give up painting for the next four years. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Abisheganaden
Paul Selvaraj Abisheganaden (27 March 1914 in Penang – 31 August 2011 in Singapore) was a Singaporean conductor and 1986 Cultural Medallion recipient for his contributions to music. Paul was educated at Serangoon English School and St Andrew's School, passing his Senior Cambridge examinations in 1931. He studied arts subjects at Raffles College and graduated with a Diploma in the Arts in 1934. He joined the education service and taught at the Geylang English School, where he composed the music and lyric for what was to be the first school anthem, entitled the "Geylang English School Song". Paul is credited with championing and reviving classical music in Singapore during the 1940s and 1950s. He founded one of the country's first string ensembles. As an educator, he was the principal of Victoria School from 1959 to 1961 and the principal of Teacher's Training College from 1963 to 1968. He later taught in the music department of the National University of Singapore for decades. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goh Choo San
Goh Choo San (; 14 September 1948 – 28 November 1987) was a Singaporean ballet dancer and choreographer whose decade-long association with The Washington Ballet brought that company international acclaim. Childhood The son of Goh Kim Lok (1904–1970), a merchant, and Siew Han Ch'ng (1912–1989), Goh was the youngest of nine children. His Chinese parents spoke Mandarin and brought up their children with very traditional values. Goh was influenced by and followed in the path of three of his older siblings to train as a dancer. Performance tours to Singapore from overseas ballet companies stimulated their interest in dance. His elder sister Goh Soo Nee 吴素妮 trained at the Royal Ballet School in London and returned to Singapore to co-found the Singapore Ballet Academy. His elder brother Goh Choo Chiat 吴诸杰 also trained at the Royal Ballet, later became a principal dancer in the Beijing Ballet, and is the artistic director of the Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver, Britis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Tzu Pheng
Anne Lee Tzu Pheng (born May 13, 1946) is a Singaporean poet. She has five volumes of poems to her name; of these, the first three, ''Prospect of a Drowning'' (1980), ''Against the Next Wave'' (1988) and ''The Brink of An Amen'' (1991) were winners of the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award. After converting to Catholicism, Lee Tzu Pheng added Anne to her name to reflect her new faith. Life and career Born in Singapore (while it was under British rule), Lee Tzu Pheng was educated at Raffles Girls' Secondary School. She has a Ph.D. in English from the University of Singapore in 1973, from where she retired as a Senior Lecturer in its English Department. She is divorced from her ex-husband, Ban Kah Choon (who was once Head of English, National University of Singapore), and has one daughter, Jane Ban Li Hian. Style of writing Lee's poetry is meditative and lyrical in nature and with themes such as the individual's search for identity and larger unifying hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yip Cheong Fun
Yip Cheong Fun (; 1903 – 16 September 1989) was an influential Singaporean documentary photographer, best known for his photograph "Rowing at Dawn", which was taken in 1957 in celebration of Singapore obtaining self-government, and which in his words, was to show "the dawn of a new day, new hope and new life for Singapore". Although better known and admired for his seascapes, Yip Cheong Fun also took a lot of other award-winning photographs depicting different facets of Singaporeans' life with keen observation and a humanistic understanding of the people and events around him. In 1984 he was awarded the Cultural Medallion for his outstanding achievements and contributions to photography, for his work "identified with the Singaporean society and mirrored the nation's way of life and history". Biography Born in Hong Kong in 1903, Yip arrived in Singapore with his migrant parents when he was seven months old. His father died when Yip was four, and his mother then had to find ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Yap
Arthur Yap Chioh Hiong (; 1943 – 19 June 2006) was a Singaporean poet, writer and painter. Biography Arthur Yap was born in Singapore, the sixth child of a carpenter and a housewife. Yap attended St Andrew's School and the University of Singapore, after which he won a British Council scholarship to study at the University of Leeds in England. At Leeds Arthur earned a master's degree in Linguistics and English Language Teaching, later obtaining his PhD from the National University of Singapore in the years after he returned from Leeds. He stayed on in the University's Department of English Language and Literature as a lecturer between the years 1979 and 1998. Between 1992 and 1996, Yap served as a mentor with the Creative Arts Programme run by the Ministry of Education to help inspire students and nurture young writers at local secondary schools and junior colleges. Yap was then diagnosed with lung cancer, and received radiotherapy treatment. Yap was known to be an intense ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgette Chen
Georgette Liying Chendana Chen (; Born Chang Li Ying; 23 October 1906 – 15 March 1993), most commonly known as Georgette Chen, was a Singaporean painter and one of the pioneers of Modernism, modern Visual art of Singapore, Singaporean art as well as the Nanyang Style, Nanyang style of art in the region. A key figure in the development of modern art in Singapore, Chen is known for her oil paintings and contributions to Visual arts education, art education as a teacher at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) from 1954 to 1981. Prior to being based in Federation of Malaya, Malaya and Singapore from the 1950s onwards, Chen often travelled between cities such as Shanghai, Paris, New York City, New York and Tokyo. In 1982, Chen was awarded the Cultural Medallion for her contributions to the visual arts in Singapore. On 15 March 1993, Chen died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis after an 11-year struggle with the ailment. Early life and education In 1906, Chen was born ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goh Poh Seng
Goh Poh Seng (; July 1936 – 10 January 2010) was a Singaporean dramatist, novelist, doctor and poet, was born in Kuala Lumpur, British Malaya in 1936. He was educated at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, received his medical degree from University College Dublin, and practised medicine in Singapore for twenty-five years. Writing career His writing blossomed in Ireland, where he met writers Patrick Kavanagh and Brendan Behan, published his poetry in the university magazine, and took a year off school to write. In his time living in Singapore, Goh held many honorary positions including the Chairman of the National Theatre Trust Board between 1967 and 1972, and Vice-Chairman of the Arts Council from 1967 to 1973. He was committed to the development of Art and cultural policies of post-independent Singapore, as well as the development of cultural institutions such as the Singapore National Symphony, the Chinese Orchestra and the Singapore Dance Company. Goh also opened Singapore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
