Asia-Pacific painter’s life to be captured for TV

Channel NewsAsia is to produce a three-part docudrama on one the Asia-Pacific’s most important women artists of the Twentieth Century.

The series on Georgette Chen (1906-1993) has been commissioned by the National Gallery Singapore in the run-up to its opening in 2015.

Produced by Channel NewsAsia, the series will star MediaCorp’s top actress, Rui En, as the iconic artist. 

Shot on location in Europe, China and Southeast Asia, the docudrama is set in three periods of Chen’s life: the French period from 1927 to 1933; the Chinese and Hong Kong period from 1934 to 1948 and the Penang-Singapore period from 1950 to 1980.

Set against the tumultuous years of the Second World War, producers say the storyline mirrors the artistic oeuvre of Georgette Chen, regarded as an important artist who contributed immensely to the burgeoning Nanyang school of painting and to Singapore’s art movement for over four decades.

National Gallery Singapore CEO Ms Chong Siak Ching says: “Given the important position that Georgette Chen occupies in Singapore’s art history, the enactments in the form of drama will allow us to further the appreciation and understanding of Singapore’s art historical development among a new generation.”

The Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia, Debra Soon, adds: “We are delighted to work with the National Gallery in this ambitious project. We want to bring the story of Georgette Chen to life, not to just capture her story, but to make it one that resonates with all viewers, in Singapore and beyond.”

The docudrama will telecast in April 2015 on Channel NewsAsia and MediaCorp Channel 5, and artworks by Georgette Chen will be on display in the DBS Singapore Gallery when the National Gallery Singapore opens in 2015.