Khor Ean Ghee

Khor Ean Ghee (born 1 December 1934) is a former HDB interior designer and watercolour painter. He designed several playgrounds, such as the Toa Payoh Dragon Playground and the Dakota Crescent Dove Playground in Singapore. He has also served as the president of the Singapore Art Society and was a founding member of the Singapore Watercolour Society.

Early life and education Khor was born in Penang, Malaysia on 1 December 1934. While he was in primary school, he came in first place in an art competition. From 1948 to 1957, he attended Chung Ling High School in Penang. He was a student of prominent Malaysian artist Khaw Sia. From 1957 to 1961, he studied at the National Taiwan Normal University. He graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. From 1964 to 1968, he studied at the London School of Architecture, where he obtained his Diploma in Interior Design.

Career In 1954, his watercolour paintings were displayed at The Summer Salon in England. In the following year, they were put on display at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours in London. He held his first solo exhibition in 1956. In 1960, while he was still studying in Taiwan, he won the second prize at the 1960 Watercolour Painting Competition. After graduating, he returned to Penang and was employed at Chung Ling High School as a scoutsmaster, arts teacher and disciplinarian. However, as his Taiwanese degree was not recognised by the Malaysian government at the time, his salary was lower than the salary of his colleagues. He also taught Saturday evening classes at the Methodist Boys' School as a lower and upper form senior art master. He left both schools in August 1964, and held his second solo exhibition at the Selangor Club Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks later before leaving for London to further his education. He designed the iconic Toa Payoh Dragon Playground, which was built in 1979. He also designed the Dakota Crescent Dove Playground.

From 1977 to 1978, he served as a member of the Applied Arts Trade Advisory Committee. From 1977 to 1984, he served as a board member of the School of Ornamental Horticulture. In 1979, he was made a Fellow of the British Institute of Interior Design. On 26 November 1987, he received the Vocational and Industrial Training Board of the Applied Arts Trade Advisory Committee. In 1989, he was employed at the LASALLE College of the Arts as a senior lecturer, a role which he held until 1990. In the same year, he was made a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers. From 1991 to 1997, he served as a property manager at the LASALLE College of the Arts.

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