Sonny Liew, the triple Eisner Award-winning creator of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, is wrapping up a banner year with yet another honor back home in Singapore. Along with nine other impressive residents of the city-state, Liew is…
Tag: singapore
Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Counters Official Version of Singapore History
Two years ago on the eve of publication for Sonny Liew’s tour de force graphic history of Singapore, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, the city-state’s National Arts Council suddenly got cold feet and revoked a promised grant due…
Awards & Nominations Pile Up for Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Singapore’s government may not have appreciated Sonny Liew’s graphic history The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, but everyone else certainly does! Despite losing a promised National Arts Council publishing grant due to “sensitive content” just before the book’s initial…
Sedition Laws a Legacy of Colonialism Worldwide
For many Americans, the criminal offense of sedition–that is, criticism of the government–probably conjures up the notorious but short-lived Sedition Act of 1798, which played an important role in the election of 1800 but was allowed to expire the following…
International Release of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Breaks Singapore’s Silent History
This week marks the international release of comics creator Sonny Liew’s controversial-in-Singapore graphic novel The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, and it’s already garnering praise and acclaim, furthering Liew’s goal to tell the story of Singapore’s silenced, secret — and what…
Singapore Writers Say No to Governmental Funding of the Arts
Singaporean author Jee Leong Koh and poet Alvin Pang refused to accept funding from the government-linked National Arts Council (NAC) after NAC CEO Kathy Lai and Chairman Professor Chan Heng Chee made comments the writers claim justify and defend governmental…
EXCLUSIVE: CBLDF Talks with Sonny Liew About The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye and Censorship
When it came time to print Sonny Liew’s newest graphic novel, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, the National Arts Council in Singapore abruptly withdrew their grant, leaving publisher Epigram Books with a financial burden. Taking on difficult subjects…
Financial Setback Doesn’t Stop Sonny Liew Graphic Novel from Selling Out
“The retelling of Singapore’s history in the work potentially undermines the authority or legitimacy of the government and its public institutions, and thus breaches our funding guidelines.” This guideline was what led the National Arts Council (NAC) of Singapore to…
Censorship by Financial Sabotage: Cartoonist Sonny Liew Loses Singapore Arts Grant
Due to unease over the book’s controversial content, the National Arts Council in Singapore has withdrawn its grant to aid in the publication on Sonny Liew’s The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. The book, which was released in Malaysia…
Comic Artist Tackles Censorship in Singapore
Comic artist Sonny Liew has done work for the biggest publishers in the industry, but now he is tackling a very important, highly personal, and potentially controversial project — a graphic novel depicting some of Singapore’s most controversial events. From…