51 Artists, 51 Stories: Inside the Kiat Lim–Shaping Hearts Awards 2026

A duck leading her ducklings through a colourful Peranakan courtyard. A quiet scene of children playing in nature. Fifty-one works of art, and fifty-one very different roads that led to them.

On 30 July, the North East Community Development Council (NE CDC) and the Lim Family Foundation (LFF) came together at the Kiat Lim–Shaping Hearts Awards (KLSHA) 2026 to honour 51 artists with disabilities, handing out a combined S$126,000 in grants across three award tiers — Shining, Encouraging, and Budding. Now in its second year, the ceremony has become less about a single moment of recognition and more about tracking the many different stages an artist's journey can take, from a child's first brushstroke to a professional refining a lifelong craft.

The Artists Behind the Awards

Among this year's Shining Award recipients is Leong Sijun, who lives with Down syndrome. His painting, "Waddle and Play," draws on childhood memories — play, family outings, and growing up surrounded by loved ones and neighbours — rendered through a duck family navigating a Peranakan-inspired courtyard.

Fellow Shining Award recipient Miyana Cara Lim, who lives with dyslexia and ADHD, was recognised for her piece "Playing in Nature." Cara's path to the awards started with a chance encounter with Shaping Hearts at Our Tampines Hub last year — an introduction that led her to apply, and ultimately to become one of this year's 10 Shining Award recipients.

Their stories sit alongside 43 others across the Encouraging and Budding categories — proof that the awards were never designed to reward a single kind of artist, but to meet each one wherever they are in their journey.

One Canvas, Built by Many Hands

The ceremony's centrepiece was a collaborative artwork, "Many People, One Heart," conceived by Leong Sijun himself and built around themes of inclusion and play. Guests arriving at the event coloured in individual background tiles during registration, before Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Mayor Baey Yam Keng, Mr Kiat Lim, and recording artist Jessica Jung stepped on stage to complete the piece's centrepiece together — a fitting, literal image of collective support taking shape.

The finished work won't stay behind glass. It will travel with Shaping Hearts' roving exhibitions across Singapore and go up for purchase, with 100% of proceeds going back to support artists with disabilities.

"When Shaping Hearts was launched, it was created to address a gap by giving artists with disabilities greater visibility, recognition and opportunities to grow through the arts," said Mayor Baey. He described the KLSHA as building on that founding vision — supporting artists at different stages of their journeys while encouraging more partnerships and a broader community appreciation for inclusive art.

A Bigger Stage Ahead

The 2026 edition also marks the start of a new chapter for the awards' visibility. Under a new collaboration with the Brightening Lives initiative — known for large-scale projection mapping and public storytelling — this year's 10 Shining Award recipients will see their work brought to a public showcase in Marina Bay this December, putting their art in front of a far wider audience. Further details on the showcase are expected closer to the date.

For Kiat Lim, Patron of Shaping Hearts, the growth of the programme is personal. "Seeing what last year's recipients achieved showed me just how much can happen when artists are given the support and confidence to take the next step," he said. "The Awards celebrate not only the courage of artists with disabilities to share their stories and perspectives through their work, but also the families, mentors and educators who have supported them along the way."

Artist Peter Draw, creator of Ai & Aiko and one of this year's judges, described the judging process as an unexpectedly moving one. "Seeing these artists pour their souls into their craft was nothing short of extraordinary," he said. "Every piece reminded us that love can happen anywhere, blooming in the most unexpected places through sheer creativity."

Three Categories, One Continuum

Now in its second edition, the KLSHA structures its support around three categories built for different life stages:

• 10 Shining Awards of S$5,000 each, for artists who've reached a high level of proficiency and are ready to pursue their craft professionally.

• 35 Encouraging Awards of S$2,000 each, for artists using art as a means of communication, self-expression, and personal development.

• 6 Budding Awards of S$1,000 each, supporting children under seven through art-based early intervention to build key life and social skills.

Together, the three tiers form less a competition than a continuum — a way of meeting artists with disabilities at whatever point they're at, and giving them a reason to keep going.

The awards sit under Shaping Hearts, NE CDC's flagship inclusive arts movement, which continues to build awareness, appreciation, and opportunity for artists with disabilities across Singapore.

More information on the Kiat Lim–Shaping Hearts Awards is available at shapinghearts.cdc.gov.sg.

FLUX MEDIA