Gwen Lee is the co-founder of the Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF) and founding director of DECK Photography Art Centre. She was recognized in 2010 by the Japan Chamber of Commerce & Trade for her contributions to the arts in Singapore and conducted curatorial research in Germany in 2013 with support from the Goethe Institut Singapore and the National Arts Council.
In 2012, SIPF received grants for public photography education programmes. In 2014, Lee and her team built a repurposed container art space for exhibitions and residencies, winning the Singapore President’s Design Award in 2015. In 2022, she was awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Arts & Letters by France, Ministry of Culture.
Lee has curated notable exhibitions, including those of Daido Moriyama (2016), and book award & projects with Steidl Publishing. She has served as a jury member and portfolio reviewer for various prestigious photography awards and festivals such as Foam Paul Huf Award in Netherlands, New Cosmos of Photography in Japan, Format Festival in the UK, KLPA in Malaysia, KG+ in Japan, DIPE in China, Houston FotoFest in the USA, Daegu Photo Biennale in South Korea, Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, World Press Photo 2024, and Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2025.