Mr. Chong has through art promoted humanity across cultures and the social strata of the society. He has been very willing to impart his knowledge and skills to younger Singaporeans and had held several workshops in Singapore.  I had followed him on a workshop in Thailand and we worked diligently on stone sculpturing in a stone factory from 9-5 pm daily for two weeks.  I had also helped him out in one of the volunteering Art Therapy clay sculpturing workshops held at the Institute of Mental Health.


- Chin Sin Peh

I admire Mr Chua for his photography/artistic skills and friendly personality. In addition, thanks to him, I am able to take a glimpse into the intimate world of Mr Chen Wen Hsi, whom I respect deeply.


- Heidi Lee

He is one of the few artists who is capable to do high-quality natural representation sculpture in Singapore. His artworks capture the eyes of the mass without the need for much description as well as a part of our history and heritage.  His quality of work is renowned and admired by people from all walks of life and nationalities especially if you read the comments on social media on his sculpture on the Jumping boys at the Singapore River.  In short, regardless of your cultural background and literacy, his artworks speak to you!   That is the pinnacle and mastery of all fine arts.


- Chin Sin Peh

I remember Isa Kamari's patience as he worked with a small group of us who were participants of the first Translation Bootcamp held at The Arts House in early 2014. I was part of the Malay translation group and we had the honour of working with Isa Kamari's text from his book 'Rawa', under the tutelage of Harry Aveling.

Isa Kamari would listen to some of our translated extracts and works-in-progress and close his eyes and remain silent for a while ... I could hear everyone's hearts beating in that small Council Room! And then he would suddenly be pleased with how our words sounded in a different language and smile at us, beaming!

His humility and patience gave us confidence to dissect his Malay text line by line, word by word, and try our best to find the closest essence of his story, in another language.
The time was supposed to be mainly about translation, and language and linguistics and words ... but I remember vividly his stories about the Orang Laut and Orang Seletar - intrinsically linked to 'Rawa' - and his knowledge about the history of this island and its regional spaces.

This experience of getting to know the writer inspired me to select his later work 'Pilgrimage' as part of my video series 'A Storyteller' Reads' in 2017. The spirituality and peacefulness of his poems were important to me at that time. Isa Kamari's writings were so varied in his different books and collections - yet at every point when I chanced upon his texts, there was always something that resonated with me, at that particular time. I learned from Isa Kamari to tell stories that mean a lot to you, and to share tales that you know very well - for it is in this deep familiarity we find our authentic voice, as storytellers and writers.


- Kamini Ramachandran

Ong Kim Seng, the 1990 Cultural Medallion awardee, is a self-taught watercolour artist who has won several awards from the American Watercolor Society, achieving the excellent Dolphin Awards several times. He is the only watercolour artist who has exhibited at the United Nations in New York , arranged by Professor Tommy Koh in 1982. Sought after as a  jurist in international competitions, his works are collected by world dignitaries. He is among one of the world's best 20 watercolorists, together with John Salminen, Joseph Zbukvic, Alvaro Castinet, Atanur Dogan, Liu Yi, Stanislaw Zoladz and others.



He is indeed a master of lights and shadows and his landscape  paintings, with its inimitable strokes, never never fail to mesmerise  the viewer with its freshness and brilliance, whether it is a marine landscape, urban landscape , nature or any other themes. His landscape paintings include the most rustic local scenes as well as those in Bali, Nepal, Tibet, China, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and other countries.



I have inserted here 3 of his landscape paintings, one a marine landscape, another an urban scene and the third, a nature study;  and the last one is my own portrait painting of him , embodying all these that I have  learned in my years under his tutelage: composition, tonal values, light and shadows and that realistic personal touch.


- Yusoff Abdul Latiff

I admire and respect Mr Lim Tze Peng for his artistic talent, innovative calligraphy style and enthusiasm for art. He is also known to be an unassuming and kind gentleman. I hope one day I will be able to meet Mr Lim in person.


- Heidi Lee

98岁的高龄，经过专业培训的教师 — 林子平，是一位自学成才和自我塑造的艺术家，以其所创作的大量描绘新加坡市区重建之前鲜活和迷人的风景作品而闻名。 其作品已成为新加坡艺术博物馆所收藏的200多位艺术家作品的一部分。

Inessa的舞蹈表演灵感源自林子平描绘新加坡河的艺术作品。 她用河流的形象作为对生活的隐喻 — 重温和回味逝去的经历。


- Inna (Inessa K)

Inessa's dance performance is inspired by Lim Tze Peng artworks depicting Singapore river. She is using image of the river as a metaphor for life - reliving and appreciating experiences from the past.

A teacher by training and profession, Lim Tze Peng, 98, is a self-taught and self-made artist renowned for his extensive works featuring vibrancy and charm of Singapore's landscapes just before urban redevelopment. Over 200 artist's works are part of the Singapore Art Museum collection.


- Inna (Inessa K)

Mingfong Ho's book Sing to the Dawn was used as my Secondary textbook. I was a teenager struggling with identity and found the book very empowering for a girl seeking higher education.

When she was here in Singapore to give talks during the Asian Festival of Children's Content, she autographed for me her award winning picture book, Hush A Thai Lullaby. I was elated to have that brief interaction with her and she had no airs about her. She was also kind enough to be in touch after the event and even shared her agent contact with me.

Her short stories in the anthology Journeys continued to inspire me as a writer.


- Clara Mok