Classical musician Ghanavenothan Retnam and painter Siew Hock Meng awarded this year's Cultural Medallion
The Cultural Medallion is regarded as Singapore's top arts accolade, and is awarded to those who have significantly contributed to the country's arts scene.
Ghanavenothan Retnam (left) and Siew Hock Meng (right) are the recipients of this year's Cultural Medallion. (Photos: National Arts Council)
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On Wednesday (Nov 27), two veteran arts practitioners were awarded Singapore's highest arts accolade, the Cultural Medallion. Classical musician Ghanavenothan Retnam and painter Siew Hock Meng for their contributions to Indian music and the visual arts, respectively.
The first Indian classical musician to receive the Cultural Medallion, Ghanavenothan Retnam has advocated for Indian classical music for over 40 years. A master of the Indian classical flute, the bansuri, he spearheaded the establishment of Singapore's first Carnatic flute ensemble in 2019.
His work as a music director at Bhaskar’s Arts Academy has also earned him international acclaim. He combined Indian classical and Balinese music traditions in his composition for Vinyaka, a dance production that premiered at the Bali Arts Festival in 2010. He also collaborated with renowned Southeast Asian composers to blend Indian classical and folk music, Javanese, Balinese and Kelantan music together for the 2023 dance-drama Radin Mas.
Highly regarded for his allegorical paintings, pastel compositions and oil portraits, Siew Hock Meng has played a key role in shaping Singapore's visual arts landscape as a member of pioneering arts societies including the Singapore Watercolour Society and the Equator Art Society.
In 1971, he was recognised for his contributions with the National Day Medal For Fine Arts.
Wednesday's ceremony also saw four other arts practitioners receiving the Young Artist Award. The award honours practitioners aged 35 and below for their impact on the community. This year's recipients are:
- Alan Choo, a violinist who serves as concertmaster and assistant artistic director of Apollo’s Fire, the Grammy Award-winning baroque orchestra based in the US
- Evan Low, a musician who produced two National Day Parade theme songs
- Tan Si En, the founder of the Singapore-based production company Momo Film Co which has produced internationally acclaimed films
- Zhang Fuming, a printmaker who established Drawing Etc Art Supplies – a creative space that supports emerging artists by providing a platform to showcase their works
President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was the guest of honour at Wednesday's ceremony, said: "This year’s Cultural Medallion and Young Artist Award recipients have each contributed in their own, quite distinctive ways to the arts. But together, they also express the breadth of character and imagination we aspire for in Singapore culture."
