Theatre Director Ong Keng Sen has been selected as the Arts and Culture laureate for Fukuoka Prize 2010. He is the first contemporary performance maker/ theatre director, to be given this award. Keng Sen is one of the leading theatre directors in the world. He has created a lively fusion, inspired by a contemporary sensibility, between the Asian and Western traditions and has earned much praise from a wide audience.

The Fukuoka Prize is viewed as the most prestigious award in Asia. It was established to honour outstanding achievements by individuals or groups/organizations in preserving and creating the unique and diverse cultures of Asia. The aim is to foster and increase awareness of the value of Asian cultures as well as to establish a framework within which Asians can learn from, and share with, each other.

Past laureates of the prize include:

Visual artists Cai Quo Ciang, Nam Jun Paik, Xu Bing, Ju Ming, Tang Da Wu Film makers Zhang Yi Mou, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Akira Kurosawa, Ann Hui; Musicians Ravi Shankar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kim Duk Soo, Dick lee; Writers Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Ba Jin, Mo Yan, Cheng Phon; Scholars Donald Keene, Clifford Geerz, Wang Guang Wu, Soedarsono, Anthony Reid, Benedict Anderson; Master Puppeteer Hamzah Awang; Cartoonist Lat; and Micro banker Mohamed Yunus

 Fukuoka Prize is planning a press conference on 30th July 2010 at Theatreworks in Singapore. For further information about the conference, please refer to: Asiamonth