JCC E-Magazine July 2026

Curator at the Chihiro Art Museum Ms Michiko Matsukata speaking online about one of the works of Chihiro Iwasaki, whom the museum is named after

Illustrator Mr David Liew highlighting the two bilingual books that were specially commissioned during SJ50

Ms Priscilla Tey sharing her illustration process and how she brings traditional art to print

JCC, the Singapore Book Council and the Chihiro Art Museum jointly held a special talk session on 6 June, featuring curator Mr David Liew and artist Ms Priscilla Tey, both from Singapore, and curator Ms Michiko Matsukata from Japan. The event was organised as part of the Peace and Friendship: An SJ60 Picture Book Exhibition from Singapore and Japan.

The full-house audience first listened to Ms Matsukata, who joined online from Japan, as she talked about the curation process of the exhibition and highlighted some of the representative Japanese picture book artists that are featured at the exhibition – such as Shigeo Nishimura and Chihiro Iwasaki.

Next, Mr David Liew talked about Singapore’s pioneering illustrator, Ms Kwan Shan Mei, who is also featured in the exhibition. He also introduced the audience to two bilingual books that were specially commissioned to commemorate Japan as the country of Focus at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content in 2016 – the year of SJ50. The two books were co-created by Singaporean and Japanese authors, illustrators including Mr Liew himself, and translators, reflecting cross-cultural storytelling and artistic exchange.

Lastly, Ms Priscilla Tey talked about her process of illustrating picture books and her creative journey from storyboarding to print. She showed some special unpublished sketches from her books “Twitchy Witchy Itch”, “Counting in Dog Years”, as well as her very first book “In-Between Things”, and also gave the audience a sneak peek to her upcoming book “The Vicious Cycle” which will be out in October.

The event left the audience even more interested in picture books, as they lingered at the exhibition after the event to view the prints and books that were on display.

The audience at the talk		An audience member asking a question during the talk
The two bilingual books that were specially commissioned for the Asian Festival of Children's Content in 2016 during SJ50 Benji, Yumi, Origami! Written by Emily Lim \| Illustrated by Kazumi Wilds \| Translated by Yumiko Fukumoto Monster Day on Tabletop Hill Written by Akiko Sueyoshi \| Illustrated by David Liew \| Translated by Cathy Hirano		Browsing the picture books on display after the event
Audience members interacting with the speakers after the event		Browsing the exhibition after the event

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