Cover International lawyer and philanthropist Tai-Heng Cheng at the Sidley Austin office in Singapore with "Panoramic Fragments" by
Zen Teh and Wyn-Lyn Tan, one of four new works by Singaporean artists and collectives commissioned
by the American law firm as part of its 40th anniversary
in the Asia-Pacific region
International lawyer and philanthropist Tai-Heng Cheng at the Sidley Austin office in Singapore with "Panoramic Fragments" by Zen Teh and Wyn-Lyn Tan, one of four new works by Singaporean artists and collectives commissioned by the American law firm as part of its 40th anniversary in the Asia-Pacific region
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For the lawyer and philanthropist, his support for art goes beyond collecting works, but giving artists and talents access to equal opportunities across the ecosystem
In his work as an international lawyer and arbitrator, Tai-Heng Cheng represents clients and their interests spanning various industries including energy and infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. The global co-head of American law firm Sidley Austin’s international arbitration and trade practice and co-managing partner of its Singapore office is also a trusted adviser to companies, boards and governments across the globe on issues beyond business disputes.
So you can say that Cheng, who spends on average a week every month in Singapore, making the nearly 18-hour commute from New York where he is based, is adept at managing differences, whether they are commercial- or investment-related, or even cultural—and he considers art as a bridge to foster empathy and understanding. “I’ve always been interested in art but like any field of connoisseurship, the more you learn about it, the more you appreciate it,” he says.
“As someone who has lived in multiple countries and experienced various cultures, I’ve found art to be a way to help me access and find common ground between different countries and cultures. I think this is crucially important today as people become more brittle and tribal.”
The rise of Asian hate crimes in the US and the Black Lives Matter movement spurred Cheng to create a fund for graduate internships at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC, in January last year. The Cheng-Harrell Graduate Internship—named after Cheng, and his husband Cole Harrell, who is a specialist in traditional art from Africa and Oceania—helps support five paid graduate interns annually over five years.
“We wanted to do something to help address racial inequality—and one of the sources for inequality is unequal opportunities,” says Cheng. “Many museums have unpaid internships, and since minorities are disproportionately less affluent, they have fewer opportunities to such exposure and networking experiences. By creating a paid internship, it allows talented, diverse candidates to have an equal opportunity.”
The graduate interns will work alongside the museum’s experts across teams and disciplines on exhibitions, research and public programmes, while earning a living wage.
“One of the goals of the museum is to serve as a bridge for Americans into Asian cultures and an access point for Asian countries into America. If the graduate internships prove successful, we are open to endowing it in perpetuity,” says Cheng, who also serves on the museum’s board of trustees, and that of The Frick Collection, an art museum known for its collection of old master paintings and European decorative arts in New York City.
Read also: A United Front: Asian Americans Speak Up On #StopAsianHate And Why It Matters
Above Cheng in the study at his home in Tuxedo Park, New York. The room features oak panelling milled from the oak trees on
the estate that were felled by Hurricane Isaias in 2020, and is furnished with an 18th-century Dutch Regency mirror and Irish chair, among other fine art (Image: Lara Lam)
Cheng in the study at his home in Tuxedo Park, New York. The room features oak panelling milled from the oak trees on the estate that were felled by Hurricane Isaias in 2020, and is furnished with an 18th-century Dutch Regency mirror and Irish chair, among other fine art (Image: Lara Lam)
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When it comes to his philanthropic contributions, Cheng considers himself an impact investor. “I like to give to causes where I can see the difference [my contribution] makes.”
And this is a philosophy that is aligned with Sidley’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. Besides its commitment to pro bono legal work—Cheng was notably a co-lead counsel for Linda Tirado, the freelance journalist who was permanently blinded in one eye from a projectile fired by the police while she covered a Black Lives Matter protest—the firm’s CSR programme focuses on improving the communities where it operates. Sidley’s lawyers and staff participate in various volunteer initiatives throughout the year that focus on social impact.
The Singapore office marked its 40th anniversary in 2022 with three projects, which according to Cheng, “we hope would fill a need and be meaningful”: a tree-planting initiative in support of Raffles Institution’s Bicentennial 1823 Trees project; a pro bono collaboration with Pro Bono SG (formerly Law Society Pro Bono Services) to draft a labour and employment rights manual for migrant domestic workers; and a commission of new works by Singaporean artists and collectives for the lobby of the Singapore office, which was unveiled at a cocktail reception with its clients last November.
This is the first time that Cheng, who collects old master paintings, ancient Chinese bronzes and other fine art, has commissioned works by Singaporean artists, and he tapped on young creative Clifford Loh, who curated his first show featuring four artworks by artists with diverse artistic narratives and use of various mixed media. “Our only requests were for the works to not be too political, and don’t make anything ugly,” quips Cheng. “We wanted to give young artists an opportunity to do work, be commissioned, be supported and to stand up. In fact, we are the beneficiaries; the works are in our office, and our staff and clients get to enjoy them.”
Read also: Feminism, diaspora and the afterlife: Artist Zadie Xa explores identity in her Korean folklore-inspired installations
Singapore-born, New York-based writer Amanda Lee Koe made her debut as a visual artist with Succession, a neon light on silver acrylic mirror, which is inspired by the Latin legal terminology, cessante ratione legis, cessat lex ipsa, or “when the reason for a law ceases, so does the law itself” when translated in English. With Final Countdown & Everything Must Go, Khairullah Rahim, who works with found objects, puts his signature rhinestone embellishments to two inauthentic Chinese vases originally displayed in the lobby of Sidley’s Singapore office.
With a penchant for putting together incompatible elements, multimedia artist collective Paradise Now, comprising Bryan Tan and Jay Ho, reconfigured a faux bronze sculpture originally displayed in the Sidley’s office, with wood to resemble an artillery shell in Please Return All Stolen Artefacts. Meanwhile, Zen Teh and Wyn-Lyn Tan explores the forgotten natural landscapes in the western part of Singapore in Panoramic Fragments, uniting Teh’s photography with Tan’s painterly strokes applied with corrosives to a brass surface.
Cheng is delighted with how the commissioned works have turned out, describing them as thoughtful and intelligent. “Artists in Singapore could use with more support. The art ecosystem here is less developed than, say, New York or London. And therefore, we felt that the philanthropic dollar would have an outsized impact here than if the same [amount of] money was spent in New York or London because the art ecosystem is in development,” says Cheng, who adds that the law firm even received queries from clients who wanted to purchase some of the works, even though they were not for sale. “One thing that impact investing seeks to do is to encourage others to find causes that they believe in—and give. So if others are inspired by what we’ve done, to find causes that they care about, it would be quite satisfying to know that we’ve helped create some momentum.”
In case you missed it: Art SG: Why Southeast Asia Deserves an International Art Fair To Call Its Own
Cheng is not stopping there. As the world takes a deglobalising turn, he notes, “The single most important geopolitical issue over the next few decades will be US-China relations. By 2030, China is expected to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy. As governments and businesses compete with each other, we need to figure out ways to compete constructively, without having ill feelings towards each other.
“Art can have a positive role in addressing these issues. It give us a window into another country and another culture, and gives us a neutral ground to come together and appreciate something that’s not within an area of direct economic or military confrontation.”
Cheng and his husband are setting up the Cheng-Harrell Institute for Global Affairs in 2023-2024 to help tackle pressing global problems. The institute, which will be headquartered in their home in Tuxedo Park, New York, will convene meetings around the world bringing world leaders and leaders of different vocations together to work on common concerns for humanity.
“We believe that right now there isn’t enough discussion across vocations (business conferences are just for businesses, law conferences are just for lawyers, and the defence gatherings are just for military officials), so we want to fill this gap in global civic society. There will also be a cultural programme led by Cole alongside policy discussions to help people get to know each other in a neutral forum without clashing over policy differences and interests,” shares Cheng.
The initial programme line-up for 2023-2024 includes a US-China dialogue among leading jurists from both countries, hosted in a neutral country in Asia; a reconstruction of Ukraine project to be launched from Warsaw (if there is no armistice), or Kyiv (if there is an armistice), to urge global companies to make specific commitments to help rebuild; and an interfaith project with a US university to bring together leaders from the major faiths, and secular leaders, to work on a document that states common interfaith and secular values.
For the institute to be truly global and non-partisan, a professional management team will be hired with endowment returns to make the executive decisions and run the institute. The Cheng-Harrells will serve on the board of trustees.
“We believe this will produce new ideas for big problems,” enthuses Cheng. “At a minimum, we hope that once leaders know each other, it will be more difficult for people at a personal level to demonise each other on the other side of the world.”
Above "Paris Presenting the Golden Apple", an early 19th-century work by Italian painter Carlo Zatti, is the focal point of the library in Cheng’s New York home (Image: Lara Lam)
"Paris Presenting the Golden Apple", an early 19th-century work by Italian painter Carlo Zatti, is the focal point of the library in Cheng’s New York home (Image: Lara Lam)
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Credits
Photography: Benny Loh (main image)
Art Direction: Jeremy Ang
Grooming: Angel Gwee using L'Oréal Professionnel and Nars
Photography Assistant: Samuel Gan
As Senior Editor of Tatler Singapore, Hashirin champions and refines the storytelling across platforms—curating and crafting compelling profiles, cover stories and features that spotlight visionaries shaping culture, business and impact. Driven by curiosity, she draws inspiration from the artists, changemakers and trailblazers she encounters through her work. Beyond the pages of Tatler, she is an avid supporter of local theatre and delights in seeking out art in every city she visits.
