Dorothy Lim-Chew

Founder & Curator

An avid lover of calligraphic art, Dorothy, together with a group of calligraphers in Singapore, hosted a calligraphy exhibition, ‘Love of Letters’ in 2019. Surrounded by walls of over 70 pieces of calligraphic art, each crowded with admiring audiences, Dorothy was moved. ‘I felt then that everyone should have access to calligraphic art, whether it is to view it, to own it, to learn more about it, or indeed, to create it,’ said Dorothy.

Grateful

Dorothy was planning to host another exhibition for 2020 when Covid struck. As the world ground to a halt in lockdown, she pivoted to host the exhibition online. It was titled ‘Grateful’ and featured works which expressed what artists were grateful for in a time of Covid. The exhibition was accompanied by online workshops, talks, demos… all offered free by generous artists and collaborators. The community gathered around these events and were inspired and uplifted by the beauty and gratefulness expressed. Friendships were formed across nations and timezones.

The Art of Letters & International Mentorship Programme

After the Grateful exhibition, Dorothy relaunched the site as ‘The Art of Letters’ to promote calligraphic art. She also initiated an international mentorship programme where rising and aspiring artists can be mentored by established artists for a period of 8 months to a year. Each mentorship cycle culminates in an online exhibition which has come to be known as ‘Symbiosis’.

While Symbiosis was in its first cycle, Dorothy was discovered to have stage 3B cancer. She bravely forged ahead, successfully completing surgery, chemo and radiation therapy while curating the Symbiosis exhibition and hosting the Weekend Events. The mentorship and Symbiosis exhibition has been going on since, with four cycles of mentorship now completed.

Dorothy lives and works in Singapore with husband, Keh and teenage son, Caylen. An avid lover of calligraphy, Dorothy also paints and writes.