News - Ong Keng Sen awarded Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture

Theatre director Ong Keng Sen has been awarded the Fukuoka Prize for Arts and Culture. He is the first contemporary performance maker / theatre director to receive this prestigious award and he’s in illustrious company; past laureates include Cai Quo Ciang, Nam Jun Paik, Xu Bing, Zhang Yi Mou and Akira Kurosawa.


The citation said “Mr Ong is one of the most prolific theatre directors in the world. His productions are shaped by modern sensibility which brings together Asian and European performance traditions in striking way. He has won international acclaim as a director. He has been a pioneer at the international frontier of theatrical art: his plays do not disregard tradition, but still place a premium on physicality, and remain true to the spirit of pop art.”

“In all his activities, Mr. Ong is always asking himself the fundamental question, 'What does it mean, today, to li”ve as an artist?' As a theatre director, he has fixed his gaze at the geographically vast expanse of Asia and the Western world, and also across a long stretch of historical memory.”