The annual Singapore prize celebrates inspiring local arts practitioners who show professional maturity in their work and have made extraordinary contributions to the nation’s art scene. This year’s winners include violinists Dmytro Udovychenko, Anna Agafia Egholm, and Angela Sin Ying Chan. The award has been given since 1979, and it is regarded as the highest honour in the Singapore art scene. The winners are awarded a cash prize, performances and multiple concert engagements.
The winner of the Singapore Literary Prize 2024 has been announced – and it’s not quite what you expect. The prize, which is open to publications written by Singaporeans in the English language, has a new translation category this year, and it’s been a popular addition.
This category will honor works that have been translated into English from any language, and it will be awarded to the best work in the category. The shortlist was compiled from 192 titles, which is 32 fewer than the number of submissions for last year’s prize.
Among the books shortlisted was Nature’s Colony: Empire, Environment and Human History in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, by NUS Press; Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea, by John Miksic, also published by NUS Press; and Squatters into Citizens: The 1961 Bukit Ho Swee Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore, by Loh Kah Seng. The jury for this year’s prize was chaired by Kishore Mahbubani, an NUS professor and Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow, and included author Meira Chand; economist Lam San Ling; historian Peter Coclanis; and archaeologist John Miksic.
Another book prize that has a new translation category is the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation (APB) Signature Art Prize. It was announced on Thursday that the 2019 prize will be awarded to Vietnamese artist Tran Thanh Hung, who has created a series of large-scale installations that examine the relationship between art and public space. The exhibition is currently on display at the National Museum of Singapore. The prize comes with a cash prize of SGD 100,000. The other finalists this year were Singapore performance artist Amanda Heng, who is revisiting her Let’s Walk series; Thai artist Dusadee Huntrakul, for her cabinet of curiosities with objects from the forest next to Gillman Barracks; Turkish artist Hera Buyuktasciyan, for her wood and metal works; and Singapore sculptor Robert Zhao Renhui, for his installation that addresses issues such as child recruitment and casualties in war.
Also on Thursday, Vienna was named the winner of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize for 2020. The biennial prize recognises cities that demonstrate outstanding achievements and contributions in the development of liveable, sustainable and vibrant urban communities. The prize is backed by a fund of SGD 50 million, and the winning city will receive a grant of SGD 10 million. Read more about the prize here.