Translated version of the original speech in Mandarin:

Senior Minister of State for Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling,

Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award Judging Panel Chairman, Mr Lim Jim Koon,

Board Directors of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre,

Friends from our arts and cultural community,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening and welcome to the opening ceremony of Cultural Extravaganza 2026 and the presentation of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Contribution Award or SCCCA.

Cultural Extravaganza is SCCC’s annual cultural showcase that celebrates the best of local Chinese arts and culture through music, theatre, dance and the visual arts.

This year’s Cultural Extravaganza will take place from 7 May to 7 June 2026, and promises refreshing and innovative takes on our Singapore Chinese culture.

It will feature the premieres of eight exciting new works by established local arts groups, and this evening, we have the privilege of previewing the snippets of three of these new works by The TENG Ensemble and Singapore Chinese Dance Theatre, Hao Hao Studio, and TOY Factory.

In addition, Siaw-Tao Chinese Seal Carving, Calligraphy & Painting Society is also launching its new exhibition titled “Under the Winds” this evening to kick off SCCC’s Cultural Extravaganza 2026.

Next, allow me to congratulate this year’s SCCCA recipients.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre (SCCC) introduced the SCCCA in 2017 to recognise the efforts by individuals and organisations who made outstanding contributions to the promotion, enrichment and development of local Chinese arts, culture and heritage.

This year, we are heartened to receive a total of 21 nominations from across the performing arts, literary arts, heritage and lifestyle sectors.

Since its launch in 2017, the award has been conferred to 16 deserving individuals and organisations, and this year, we are proud to welcome two more illustrious award recipients into the SCCCA family.

Our individual recipient for SCCCA 2026 is Dr Tan Chee Lay.

Dr Tan Chee Lay is one of Singapore’s foremost scholars and educator in the field of Chinese language, literature and culture.

He is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Chinese Literature at National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technology University, and has published 40 books on Singapore’s bilingual and bicultural identity as expressed through poetry, prose and drama.

He also played a central role in the Singapore Mandarin Database project as well as the 2025 publication titled Selat to Singapore: Singapore Mandarin Database.

Chee Lay’s numerous contributions to Chinese language, literature and culture make him a reserving recipient of SCCCA.

Congratulations Chee Lay.

Our organisation recipient for SCCCA 2026 is Paper Monkey Theatre.

Paper Monkey Theatre is Singapore’s leading puppetry group renowned for its bilingual puppetry performances.

It has continued to refine its craft and to innovate by incorporating different elements such as shadow puppetry, modern manual cinema, multi-disciplinary storytelling and more, to create immersive puppetry performances for all ages.

As an organisation, it has also been committed to showcasing and transmitting the art of traditional puppetry to practitioners through masterclasses, and to young audiences through school workshops.

Congratulations Paper Monkey Theatre.

At this point, I would like to thank Mr Lim Jim Koon, Chairman of the SCCCA judging panel as well as panel members for their hard work in reviewing and shortlisting the SCCCA applications every year.

In particular, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr Choo Thiam Siew, who has stepped down from the judging panel this year, as well as to the late Professor Eddie Kuo, who has served as Special Advisor to the judging panel, for their support and invaluable contributions over the years.

Following the conferment of SCCCA 2026, I am pleased to announce that the nominations for SCCCA 2027 are now open.

I would like to call upon our local Chinese arts and culture community to nominate deserving individuals and organisations for next year’s award.

Let me conclude by congratulating our two SCCCA 2026 recipients once again, and I wish everyone an enjoyable evening filled with memorable local Chinese arts and culture.