National Gallery Singapore gives South East Asian art a higher profile

The newly opened National Gallery Singapore, in the heart of the city’s Civic District, is being touted as the island nation’s answer to the world's great museums.

Speaking at the recent opening ceremony, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pointed to renowned art galleries in other cities, such as Paris' Louvre and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, stating that while the new facility lacks their "scale and riches" it will be the "pride of Singapore."

Uniting two landmarks of Singapore’s colonial architecture, the S$375 million gallery showcases the modern art of Singapore and South East Asia and, at 64,000 metre², is the largest visual arts venue in the city and one of the biggest in the region.

Over the course of nearly 10 years of construction, France-based StudioMilou Architecture connected the former City Hall, built in 1926, and the Supreme Court buildings, completed in 1937, with a striking exterior canopy of golden aluminium panels.

Prime Minister Lee said the architects modernized and transformed the buildings "into an understated but high-quality museum, in keeping with the ethos of our society."

The gallery houses some 8,000 works from Singapore's National Collection  including paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs and videos  as well as pieces from other institutions and private collectors around the world.

A groundbreaking exhibition spread across 15 rooms of the Supreme Court building presents a roughly 200-year story of South East Asia through the eyes of artists from 10 countries.

Gallery Senior Curator Lisa Horikawa stated “our aim is not to offer a comprehensive overview of art in each country but to create a platform that invites everyone to examine it, understand and re-imagine Southeast Asia and the modern art of region.”

Major Singaporean artists with exhibited works stretch from the colonial period to the present day.

By bringing together art from across South East Asia and presenting it to the world, the National Gallery Singapore is aiming to raise the international profile of the region's artists with collaborative research, educational activities and exhibitions highlighting the importance of South East Asian modern art in a global context.

Images: Visitors at the new National Gallery Singapore (top), the Blue Gallery (middle) and bridge connecting the former City Hall and the Supreme Court buildings (below).

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