The Cultural Medallion is a cultural award in Singapore conferred to those who have achieved artistic excellence in

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, theatre, literature, music, photography, art and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

. 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 multi-disciplinary artists, it was announced that recipients of the Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award will no longer be categorised according to art forms.

List of Cultural Medallion recipients

{, class="wikitable" , - !Year, , Category, , Name !Ref , - , rowspan="6", 1979, , Dance, , Madhavi Krishnan , , - , Theatre, , Bani bin Buang , , - , rowspan="2", Music, , Choo Hoey , , - ,

David Lim Kim San David Lim Kim San (born 7 May 1933) is considered to be one of the architects of music education in Singapore. David Lim was born in a Peranakan and Methodist family. He attended Telok Kurau Primary School and Victoria School, where he was mentore ...

, , - , Literature, , Edwin Nadason Thumboo , , - , Art, , Wee Beng Chong , , - , rowspan="6", 1981, , Dance, ,

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 m ...

, , - , Theatre, , Joanna Wong Quee Heng née Wu , , - , Music, , Ahmad bin Ja'afar , , - , Literature, , Wong Meng Voon , , - , rowspan="2", Art, , Lee Hock Moh , , - ,

Ng Eng Teng Ng Eng Teng (; 12 July 1934 – 4 November 2001), ''The Grandfather of Singapore Sculpture'' was a sculptor in Singapore known for his figurative sculptures, many of which are found in public locations around Singapore. His legacy include the ''Mo ...

, , - , rowspan="5", 1982, , Theatre, , Lin Chen , , - , Music, , Leong Yoon Pin , , - , Literature, ,

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 Uni ...

, , - , Photography, , David Tay Poey Cher , , - , Art , , Georgette Chen Liying , , - , rowspan="4", 1983, , Theatre, , Christopher Henry Rothwell Allen , , - , Music, , Vivien Goh , , - , Literature , ,

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 Si ...

, , - , Photography , , Ang Chwee Chai , , - , rowspan="4", 1984, , Theatre , , S Varathan , , - , Music, , Kam Kee Yong , , - , Photography , ,

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 ...

, , - , Art , , Thomas Yeo , , - , rowspan="4", 1985, , Theatre , , Low Ing Sing , , - , Literature , ,

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 winne ...

, , - , Photography , , Tan Lip Seng , , - , Art , , Tay Chee Toh , , - , rowspan="7", 1986, , Dance, , Goh Choo San , , - , rowspan="2", Theatre, , Almahdi Al-Haj Ibrahim , , - , N Palanivelu , , - , Music, ,

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 ...

, , - , Literature , , Wong Yoon Wah , , - , rowspan="2", Art , , Pan Shou , , - , Teo Eng Seng , , - , rowspan="6", 1987, , Dance, , Som Said , , - , Theatre , , Max Le Blond , , - , Music , , Teng Mah Seng , , - , Literature , , Hj Muhammed Ariff bin Ahmad , , - , Photography , , Lee Lim , , - , Art , , Tan Swie Hian , , - , rowspan="6", 1988, , Dance, , Lim Fei Shen , , - , Theatre , , Tay Bin Wee , , - , Music, , Alex Abisheganaden , , - , Literature , , N Abdul Rahman , , - , Photography , ,

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 ...

, , - , Art , ,

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 o ...

, , - , rowspan="4", 1989, , Dance, ,

Neila Sathyalingam Neila Sathyalingam (8 February 1938 – 9 March 2017) was a Singaporean classical Indian dancer, choreographer and instructor of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. An alumna of Kalakshetra in Madras (now Chennai) under the tutelage of Srimathi Rukmin ...

, , - , Theatre , ,

Kuo Pao Kun Kuo Pao Kun (193910 September 2002) () was a playwright, theatre director, and arts activistKwok, Kian-Woon. "Remembering Kuo Pao Kun (1939–2002)." Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 4.2 (2003): 193–201. in Singapore who wrote and directed both Man ...

, , - , Photography , , Foo Tee Jun , , - , Art , , Goh Beng Kwan , , - , rowspan="7", 1990, , Dance, ,

Santha Bhaskar Santha Bhaskar (1939 – 26 February 2022), ''née'' Pankyamma Santhamma was a Singaporean dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Born in India, she trained and performed in multiple classical Indian dance forms, including Mohiniyattam, Kathaka ...

, , - , Theatre , ,

Han Lao Da Han Lao Da (), originally named Ann Jong Juan, is a Singaporean playwright, as well as founder and principal of Han Language Centre. Han received the Cultural Medallion for his contributions in the Singaporean drama scene, and is also recognis ...

, , - , Music , , Lim Yau , , - , Literature , , Chew Kok Chang , , - , Photography , , Peng Seng Wu , , - , rowspan="2", Art , ,

Anthony Poon Anthony Poon Kin Soon (; 21 April 1945 – 2 September 2006) was one of the pioneer abstract artists in Singapore best known for his paintings in the ''Wave Series'' which he began working on in 1976. Biography Born in Singapore in 1945, Poon gr ...

, , - , Ong Kim Seng , , - , rowspan="4", 1992, , Dance, , Ying E Ding , , - , Theatre , , Phan Wait Hong , , - , Music , , Choo Hwee Lim , , - , Art , , Wang Sui Pick , , - , 1993, , Music , ,

Tay Teow Kiat Tay Teow Kiat (; born 1947) is the Music Director of East Zone Schools’ Chinese Orchestra Development Centre, President of Singapore Chinese Instrumental Music Association, Music Director of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) City Chinese Orche ...

, , - , rowspan="2", 1995, , Dance, ,

Goh Lay Kuan Goh Lay Kuan (; born 1939) is an Indonesian-born Singaporean dancer, choreographer, educator, and pioneer of dance in Singapore. Together with her husband, Kuo Pao Kun, she co-founded the Singapore Performing Arts School (now The Theatre Practic ...

, , - , Art , ,

Han Sai Por Han Sai Por (; born 19 July 1943) is a Singaporean sculptor. A graduate of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), East Ham College of Art, Wolverhampton College of Art (now the School of Art and Design of the University of Wolverhampton) and ...

, , - , rowspan="2", 1996, , Music, , Phoon Yew Tien , , - , Literature, , Lew Poo Chan (Dan Ying) , , - , rowspan="2", 1997, , Theatre , , Lou Mee Wah , , - , Literature , , Ho Minfong , , - , 1998, , Literature , , Rama Kannabiran , , - , rowspan="2", 1999, , Literature , , Abdul Ghani Hamid , , - , Art , ,

Chua Ek Kay Chua Ek Kay () (21 November, 1947 – 8 February 2008) was a Singaporean artist hailed as the "bridge between Asian and Western art" with a unique painting style using Chinese ink on paper that demonstrated an ingenious blend of traditional Chine ...

, , - , 2000, , Art , , Tan Siah Kwee , , - , rowspan="2", 2001, , Art, , Tan Kian Por , , - , Music , , Yan Hui Chang , , - , 2002, , Music, ,

Jeremy Monteiro Jeremy Ian Monteiro (born 20 June 1960, Singapore) is a Singaporean jazz pianist, singer, composer, and music educator. In Singapore he was mentioned by the local press as Singapore's "King of Swing". Monteiro was awarded the Cultural Medallion ...

, , - , rowspan="3", 2003, , Art, ,

Lim Tze Peng Lim Tze Peng (, born 28 September 1921) is a Singaporean artist who is a teacher by training and profession. He was awarded a Cultural Medallion in 2003 in recognition of his contribution to the country's art and culture. In June 2021, it was re ...

, , - , Theatre , , Ong Keng Sen , , - , Literature, ,

Yeng Pway Ngon Yeng Pway Ngon (; 26 January 194710 January 2021) was a Singaporean poet, novelist and critic in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A prolific writer, Yeng's works have been translated into English, M ...

, , - , 2004, , Photography , ,

Teo Bee Yen Teo Bee Yen (born 1950 in Fujian, China) is a photographer from Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude ...

, , - , rowspan="4", 2005, , Film, , Jack Neo , , - , Literature , ,

M. Balakrishnan M. Balakrishnan (born 18 September 1938) is a Singaporean 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 Early life and career Mayandiambalam Balakr ...

(MA. Ilangkannan) , , - , Music , , Dick Lee , , - , Visual Arts , , Chng Seok Tin

Lee Wen Lee Wen (; 1957–2019) was a Singapore-based performance artist who shaped the development of performance art in Asia. He worked on the notion of identity, ethnicity, freedom, and the individual's relationship to communities and the environme ...

, , - , rowspan="2", 2006, , Art, , Tan Choh Tee , , - , Music, ,

Lynnette Seah Lynnette Seah Mei Tsing () is a Singaporean violinist serving as co-leader of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO). She received the Cultural Medallion for Music in 2006. Early life Seah began her formal music training on the piano with her ...

, , - , rowspan="2", 2007, , Film, ,

Eric Khoo use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , nationality = Singaporean , alma_mater = Uni ...

, , - , Literature , , Isa Kamari , , - , rowspan="2", 2008, , Literature, , Chia Hwee Pheng
P. Krishnan , , - , Music, , Iskandar Mirza Ismail , , - , rowspan="4", 2009, , Dance, , Angela Liong , , - , Literary Arts, ,

Tham Yew Chin Tham Yew Chin (; born 1950), known by her pseudonym You Jin (), is a Singaporean writer. She received the Cultural Medallion Award in 2009 for her contributions to Singapore's literary arts scene. Early life and family Tham was born 1950 in Ipoh, ...

, , - , Music, ,

Lan Shui Lan Shui (Chinese: 水蓝, born 1957) is a Chinese-American conductor. He was the Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 2019. He has retired as Music Director on 26 January 2019, and was given the title of Conductor Laure ...

, , - , Visual Arts, , Ang Ah Tee , , - , rowspan="3", 2010, , Music, , Liang Wern Fook , rowspan="2" , , - , Literary Arts, , Suratman Markasan , - , Visual Arts, ,

Amanda Heng Amanda Heng Liang Ngim (; born 1951) is a contemporary artist, curator and speaker from Singapore, who works in Singapore and internationally. As an artist she has a multidisciplinary practice, working collaboratively in contemporary art exhibi ...

, , - , rowspan="4", 2011, , Music, , Kelly Tang , rowspan="4" , , - , Visual Arts, , Lim Yew Kuan , - , Theatre, , Atin Amat , - , Music, , Yusnor Ef , - , rowspan="4", 2012, , Literary Arts, , J.M. Sali , rowspan="4" , , - , Music, ,

Jennifer Tham Jennifer Tham (born 1962) is a leading choir conductor and music pedagogue based in Singapore. She received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and sociology from the National University of Singapore in 1985, and trained to be a composer at the Simon ...

, - , Theatre, , Thirunalan Sasitharan , - , Visual Arts, ,

Ho Ho Ying Ho Ho Ying (), also known by his writer's moniker, Zi Mu (), was a prominent Singaporean modern artist whose practice involved avant-garde Chinese calligraphy and abstract expressionist paintings. He co-founded the Modern Art Society in Sing ...

Milenko Prvacki , - , rowspan="3", 2013, , colspan="2" , Ivan Heng , rowspan="3" , , - , colspan="2", Mohamed Latiff Mohamed , - , colspan="2",

Tsung Yeh Yeh Tsung (born 17 May 1950), better known as Tsung Yeh, is a Chinese conductor. He was the world’s first conductor to hold music directorship of a Western symphony orchestra and a Chinese orchestra simultaneously, being the musical director of ...

, - , rowspan="3", 2014, , colspan="2" , Alvin Tan , rowspan="3" , , - , colspan="2", Chong Fah Cheong , - , colspan="2", KTM Iqbal , - , rowspan="4", 2015, , colspan="2" , Chua Mia Tee , rowspan="4" , , - , colspan="2",

Haresh Sharma Haresh Sharma (born 1965) is a Singaporean playwright. To date, he has written more than 100 plays that have been staged all over the world, including Singapore, Melbourne, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cairo and London. Sharma has a BA from the Nationa ...

, - , colspan="2", Lim Hung Chang (Lin Gao) , - , colspan="2",

Margaret Leng Tan Margaret Leng Tan () is a classical music artist known for her work as a professional toy pianist, performing in major cities around the world on her 51 cm-high toy pianos. She is also known to be a classical music performer using unconventio ...

, - , rowspan="2", 2016, , colspan="2", Koh Mun Hong , , - , colspan="2",

Asiah Aman Assiah (also 'Asiya'MEIJERS, L. D., and J. TENNEKES. “SPIRIT AND MATTER IN THE COSMOLOGY OF CHASSIDIC JUDAISM.” Symbolic Anthropology in the Netherlands, edited by P.E. DE JOSSELIN DE JONG and ERIK SCHWIMMER, vol. 95, Brill, 1982, pp. 200–21 ...

(Nona Asiah) , , - , rowspan="2", 2017, , colspan="2",

Djamal Tukimin Djamal is an Arabic masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: * Djamel Abdoun (born 1986), Algerian footballer * Djamal Amrani (born 1935), Algerian poet * Djamal Mahamat (born 1983), Libyan footballer * Djamal Mohamed (born 1990), Frenc ...

, , - , colspan="2", Law Wai Lun , , - , rowspan="2", 2018, , colspan="2",

Louis Soliano Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, , - , colspan="2", Low Mei Yoke , , - , 2019, , colspan="2" , Eric James Watson , , - , rowspan="2" , 2020 , colspan="2" ,

Sarkasi Said Sarkasi bin Said (27 March 1940–14 October 2021), best known as Sarkasi Said and also known by the artist name Tzee'','' was a contemporary Singaporean batik artist known for abstract batik paintings and his use of unconventional wax-resist t ...

, , - , colspan="2" ,

Vincent Leow Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...

, , - , rowspan="2" , 2021 , colspan="2" , Chia Joo Ming , , - , colspan="2" , Rahimah Rahim , , - , rowspan="2" , 2022 , colspan="2" , Aravinth Kumarasamy , rowspan="2" , {{Cite web , last=cue , date=2022-12-05 , title=Indian dance, theatre veterans get Cultural Medallion {{! The Straits Times , url=https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/2-theatre-veterans-receive-cultural-medallion , access-date=2022-12-06 , website=www.straitstimes.com , language=en , - , colspan="2" ,

Kok Heng Leun Kok Heng Leun (; born 1966) is a former Singapore Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) who represented the arts sector in Singapore. He was appointed by the President of Singapore in March 2016. Currently, he works as the Artistic Director of ...

References

*Purushothaman, Venka (ed.) (2002) ''Narratives : Notes On A Cultural Journey : Cultural Medallion Recipients 1979 - 2001''. Singapore : National Arts Council.

External links

CULTURAL MEDALLION

National Arts Council list of current Nominations and Recipients
Arts in Singapore Civil awards and decorations of Singapore Arts awards Awards established in 1979