Tan Siah Kwee (1948 - )

Born in 1948, Chao’an, Guangdong, China, he moved to Singapore at age seven. He began attending Kong Hwa School, where he was introduced to Chinese calligraphy as a young boy under the tutelage of Tan Keng Cheow and Yan Lu at Chung Cheng High School. In 1972, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chinese literature. Tan completed his training at the Institute of Education the following year. As Founding President of the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore, he was involved in the management of the society for 37 years.

Nominated by the former Singapore Tourist Promotion Board as Cultural Ambassador and Performing Calligrapher in 1978, Tan visited numerous countries on goodwill missions and cultural exchanges. Tan has also taught calligraphy at various institutes of higher learning and has judged numerous calligraphic competitions in Singapore. Tan was appointed Executive Director of the International Congress of Chinese Calligraphy in 1988 and has served as an advisor to the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Hong Kong, the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Malaysia and the Philippines Chinese Calligraphy Society. Among his numerous honours and awards, Tan was conferred the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) in 1991, the Cultural Medallion in 2000 and the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award in 2002. In recognition of his effort to promote Chinese culture through the art of calligraphy, Tan was awarded the Brilliance of China: Choice for Chinese Culture Promoter of the Year Award by the Ministry of Culture in China in 2015.