Singapore Biennale 2019 Artist Amanda Heng Wins 12th Benesse Prize

Benesse Prize ceremony kicks off the Biennale’s 2020 Programmes at Singapore Art Week

Singapore Biennale 2019 participating artist Amanda Heng (Singapore) has won the 12^th Benesse Prize. The award recognises an artist whose exhibited work embodies an experimental and critical spirit and demonstrates an artistic reflection around the theme of “Benesse” (Well-Being). Presented by Benesse Holdings, Inc (Benesse) in collaboration with Singapore Art Museum (SAM), the Benesse Prize has been the official award of the Singapore Biennale since 2016.  In 2016, the Prize was won by Singapore Biennale 2016 artist Pannaphan Yodmanee (Thailand), who will be exhibiting a work at Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Japan in 2020.

Amanda Heng and Every Step Counts

Amanda Heng’s SB2019 commission Every Step Counts (2019) is a multi-disciplinary project that invites participation and encourages intimate conversation in her performative works. Often harnessing everyday situations to explore complex socio-political issues, Heng revisits her seminal ‘Let’s Walk’ series that was first performed in 1999. Drawing upon the act of walking, the artist moves forward, looks back, turns inward and ventures outward with others. In so doing, she generates reflections and perspectives, as well as comes to terms with the limits and stamina of the aging body.