SINGAPORE – Soul Of Ink: Lim Tze Peng At 100 (2021), a biography of Singapore’s oldest living pioneer artist Lim Tze Peng, won the inaugural Dr Alan H.J. Chan Spirit of Singapore Book Prize.
There was palpable excitement in the air at the dinner ceremony on April 23, held at the ballroom of the Conrad Centennial Singapore, where organiser Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) presented author Woon Tai Ho with the $30,000 prize.
SUSS chancellor and Singapore’s former president Madam Halimah Yacob was the guest of honour at the event attended by about 150 invited guests from the literary and publishing world, as well as Lim.
“I’m honoured, but also a bit shocked,” Woon told The Straits Times after receiving the prize. “It’s the first art book that World Scientific published, and the boss had to fight and justify why it needs to be published.”
Lim, who was in good spirits and chuckling when he spoke to ST, said in Mandarin: “The honour is not mine – it’s the author’s, who wrote such a great book.
“I continue to make art and write every day and haven’t stopped.”
The book was praised for its “intimate portrayal of the artist, a Cultural Medallion recipient, who strove to improve, innovate, and challenge himself even at the age of 100”, according to the judging panel.
