NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE – Singapore Largest Museum

Being the largest museum in Singapore, National Gallery Singapore is at the same time probably the most popular one as well.

Tourist Information

Address
National Gallery Singapore
1 St Andrew’s Rd, Singapore 178957

Opening hours
Daily from 10:00 to 18:00
Last admission at 17:30

Website
www.nationalgallery.sg

Ticket
General Admission:
Singapore Citizens & Permanent Residents: Free
Foreign Visitors: $20
Children below 6 years old: Free

Special Exhibition:
Singapore Citizens & Permanent Residents: $15
Foreign Visitors: $25

ALL Access Pass: (General Admission + Special Exhibition)
Foreign Visitors: $35

How to get there
MRT:
City Hall MRT Station
Take Exit B.
The Gallery is approximately a 7-minute walk from City Hall MRT station via the Art Connector.

Raffles MRT Station
Take Exit B.
The Gallery is approximately a 10-minute walk away through the business district.

Located at the heart of Singapore Civic District, National Gallery Singapore, the largest art museum in Singapore, is actually transformed from 2 national monuments, the former City Hall and Supreme Court buildings. With a total area of about 64,000 square metres, it is the leading visual arts institution which oversees the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern art.

To promote Singapore unique heritage and Southeast Asian arts to the world, National Gallery Singapore also works closely with other world famous museums like Musée d’Orsay of Paris, Tate Britain, National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Tokyo (MOMAT) and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA) to enhance its present in the world stage, and at the same time position Singapore as the key node in the global visual arts scene.

National Gallery Singapore is home to more than 9,000 artworks from across Southeast Asia spanning from the 19th century to the present. “Southeast Asia” here refers to the region encompassing Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. This unique transnational approach and collection forms the basis for the Gallery’s curatorial and research efforts to rewrite the art histories of this region.

The Gallery’s Collection comprises part of Singapore’s National Collection, managed by the National Heritage Board. The beginnings of the Gallery’s Collection can be traced to the donation of over 110 artworks in 1960 by art philanthropist Dato Loke Wan Tho. Since then there were many contributions or donations made by artists, artists’ estates and private individuals.

A large selection of works in the Collection are featured in the Gallery’s two long-term exhibitions, Siapa Nama Kamu? (DBS Singapore Gallery) and Between Declarations and Dreams (UOB Southeast Asia Gallery) which respectively present expansive narratives of Singapore’s position as a crossroads of culture, and the shared and divergent artistic impulses in the region since the 19th century.

The Gallery’s Collection is further enhanced by extensive holdings of related materials in its library and archives, which are publicly accessible in the Gallery’s Rotunda Library & Archive. 

National Gallery Singapore also holds many exhibitions based on different and unique themes from time to time. Visitors can check on the current exhibition by visiting their official website and plan accordingly before the visit.

Beyond exhibitions and programmes, National Gallery Singapore houses a range of art-inspired venues including a suite of specially curated dining and retail spaces that offer a variety of cuisines and one-of-a-kind museum merchandise. These restaurants, bar and merchandise are located at different level of both the City Hall wings and Supreme Courts wings. Some of them including Roof Top Smoke & Mirros, Art,  National Kitchen by Violet OON, Yan, Odette, Hachi Restaurant, The gallery store by ABRY.

National Gallery Singapore has proved to the world as one of the world’s best museum to visit by winning multiple accolades since it’s establishment. This include the 20th place ranking in the Art Newspaper’s annual global survey of attendance at art museums, the first museum in Asia to receive the Children in Museums Award by the European Museum Academy and Hands On! International Association of Children in Museums in 2018, the “Best Theme Attraction” at TTG Travel Awards 2017, “Best Attraction Experience”, “Breakthrough Contribution to Tourism” and “Best Customer Service (Attractions)” at the prestigious Singapore Tourism Awards in 2016.

So, make National Gallery Singapore as one of your Top 10 Must Visit attractions when you visit Singapore! There are so much to see and appreciate here.

Get your discounted National Gallery Singapore admission tickets here!

Check out here for Top 10 Museums in Singapore.