Lee Chor Lin

Lee Chor Lin (Singapore) is known for her expertise on the textiles of Southeast Asia. She is the author of Ancestral Ships: Fabric Impressions of Old Lampung Culture (1987). She has also contributed essays on Southeast Asian textiles to numerous publications including Power Dressing: Textiles for Rulers and Priests (2005) and Sacred Threads: Ceremonial Textiles of Southeast Asia (2001). Lee began her career with the National Museum of Singapore in 1985, before setting up the Chinese and Southeast Asia galleries at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Returning to the National Museum as Director (2003-13), she was pivotal in guiding the museum through its redevelopment and re-launch in December 2006. Lee was CEO of Arts House Limited (2013–16), which she set up for the National Arts Council, and which ran the Singapore International Festival of Arts. She was conferred Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France in 2009 and Cavaliere, Ordine della Stella d’Italia, by Italy in 2012. Her current interests include Chinese artists in pre-war Singapore, food writings of Modernist Chinese writer Wang Zengqi, and her new book on batik.