Tan Siah Kwee was born in Guangdong, China, on 6 Oct 1948, and moved to Singapore in the 1950s, where he began developing an interest in Chinese calligraphy. As founder of the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore, he has been one of the key promoters of the art form over the past four decades. He has worked tirelessly and taught many, spreading interest in the genre across the island. Tan is also well known for his public calligraphy demonstrations and workshops, and counts important Singapore politicians among his students. In 2000, Tan Received the Cultural Medallion for his contributions to visual arts in Singapore.

Tan Siah Kwee was introduced to Chinese calligraphy while he was a student in Kong Hwa School. Weekly lessons involved calligraphy exercises, and he soon found an interest in the art form. During his time in Chung Cheng High School, he joined the Chinese calligraphy club. And under the guidance of the club’s teachers who saw his potential, his passion and skill in calligraphy grew. Later, he would regard Pan Shou as the person who influenced his calligraphy the most.

Tan credits the art form with teaching him patience and instilling in him an ethos of hard work. His years of determined practice and study has resulted in a calligraphic style that is marked by a bold engagement with paper, clearly defined characters, considered composition and bravura brushwork.

Tan founded the nation’s premiere organisation for calligraphy—the Chinese Calligraphy Society of Singapore. His perseverance towards the cause of promoting Chinese calligraphy saw the society through its difficult times when membership dropped to only 12 members. Today, the Chinese Calligraphic Society has over 600 members, with Tan serving as its president.

Over his illustrious career, he also gave several hundred public and private calligraphic demonstrations, and participated in numerous Singaporean diplomatic missions as a cultural ambassador and performing calligrapher.

Tan has taught calligraphy at his own society and also at the National University of Singapore, the National Institute of Education and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, among other tertiary institutions. Besides students of all ages and races, he also counts former president of Singapore, S. R. Nathan, among his list of distinguished politician-students. Inspired by one of his calligraphy teachers who would give calligraphic prints to his students for reference and practice, Tan continues to provide quality calligraphic materials and equipment for free to his dedicated students.

In 2000, Tan Received the Cultural Medallion for his contributions to visual arts in Singapore.

Today, Tan continues to practise calligraphy, teach—often for free—and contribute his expertise on the subject as advisor and consultant to arts institutions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China.