I am a 22 year old Political Science student with fairly strong interests in the arts, whose knowledge about the local art scene should be more extensive.

For someone who has visited various art museums in different parts of the world and exhibitions of international artists in Singapore, my exposure to the interesting art scene in Singapore is, to put crudely, pathetic.

Unfortunately, I am not alone. Art and culture is simply not as pervasive in our everyday social lives like exams and getting As are, or say, xenophobia for example.

Excuse me for my lack of hard empirical data, but based on my lived experiences, I am pretty sure a bulk of Singaporeans would not be able to name even five local artists without the help of Google.

And I am very sure no one would know the artist behind beautiful sculptures you’d see around many parts of Singapore, from Toa Payoh Central to the National Library, the Botanic Gardens and along the iconic Singapore River.

One of the cultural medallion winner's work can be found alongside the Singapore River (Source: Addgrainonearth blog)

Last month, I had the splendid opportunity to attend the 35th Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award ceremony. The Culture Medallion, instituted in 1979, is Singapore’s highest artistic accolade, awarded to artists who have helped shaped Singapore’s arts and cultural landscape.

This award was presented to:

(From Left to Right: Chong Fah Cheong, Alvin Tan, and KTM Iqbal) Source

Alvin Tan, 51, is one of Singapore’s most prominent theatre directors. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage and Co-Artistic Director for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. His play, Off Centre, was the first Singapore play to be selected by the Ministry of Education as a literature text for the O levels syllabus.

Chong Fah Cheong, 68, is the sculptor of the beautiful public works you would see along the Singapore River. The Singapore Art Museum also has 18 of his sculptures in their permanent collection.

KTM Iqbal, 74, is an important poet of our times and has been published in the region’s leading publications. He has authored seven collections of poetry and written over two hundred children's songs for Radio Singapore programme in the 70s to 80s.

After hearing their speeches, here are three things Singaporeans can learn from the cultural medallion winners

1. Great art transcends time and language and have the power to speak to all

When talking about his writing which is mostly in Tamil, Iqbal says that it is important that his writing be able to contain and express the same essence when translated into other languages.

Tan on the other hand has produced works that touched on topics and issues relevant to all, such as the Singaporean definition of “success” as well as elephants in the room such as the idea of suicide and insanity in the Singaporean context in his play Off Centre, amongst many others.

Sculptor Chong, creates sculptures of lived experiences in which he shares with many other Singaporeans through imagery that invoke a sense of familiarity. His portrayal of his experiences through sculptures depicting a different generation speaks to all, regardless of age, especially when they are being juxtaposed against the backdrop of modern Singapore— his sculptures almost work like a reenactment, reminding us of our history.

2. Artists play an integral role in shaping social life

Arts has the ability to be a universal language and the potential to impact and influence many. It is an important tool to shape the social and cultural language of Singapore.

According to Tan, “in Singapore, being an artist is not enough”. He says that local artists must be activists too, in order to help the local art scene flourish and progress. Tan has been involved in arts policies and was one of many who opposed the MDA’s proposal to disallow arts groups to classify their own performances.

The power of art to capture the imagination of people is so strong — that is probably the reason why art forms are consistently regulated and censored to thwart its potential of creating drastic discourse or “social disorder”.

3. Never give up on home.

Being artists in Singapore can be frustrating, especially when they are bounded by limits of truly expressing their art forms.

Hence, it is important for the medallion awardees to continually find ways to contribute to the slowly flourishing art scene in Singapore. Tan for example, is passionate about encouraging discourse in relations to issues to the arts and has inspired many local talents.

One of whom is Siti Khalijah Zainal, a Young Artist Award (YAA). She describes Tan as not just a mentor but a mother and a father. Lee Mun Wai, a dancer, one of the founders of T.H.E. Dance Company and another fellow YAA recipient continually inspires young local talent via mentoring work such as SPROUTS and the NUS Arts Festival.

In aspiring for the cultural and artistic freedom like other countries have, these award winning artists have shown their importance and role in shaping the Singapore voice and identity in the arts scene.

Top photo from here.

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