NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION FROM FAMILY OF NG TENG FONG
By Denise Chu
Old meets new in the atrium of the National Gallery Singapore, slated to open its doors to the public later this year. Courtesy National Gallery Singapore.
There is much anticipation surrounding the imminent unveiling of the National Gallery Singapore (NGS), a new visual arts institution that will span two heritage buildings in Singapore: the city’s former Supreme Court and City Hall. Slated to open in November, the NGS will house the largest public collection of modern Singaporean and Southeast Asian art in the world.
Having already received prodigious donations from four corporations headquartered in Singapore—USD 25 million from DBS Bank, $12 million from the Keppel Corporation, $20 million from Singtel and an undisclosed amount from the United Overseas Bank Group—the National Gallery Singapore has received a further contribution of $20 million from the family of the late Singaporean real-estate tycoon Ng Teng Fong, who currently owns the Far East Organization and Sino Group. As the NGS’s fifth founding partner, the Ng family will see the Gallery’s roof garden named after their patriarch. The Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden Gallery, which will cover an area of 3,000 square meters, will be the site of the Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden Commission series. Danish-Vietnamese artist Danh Vō has been invited to produce the program's inaugural commission, which will be site-specific and be in dialogue with the Gallery’s permanent collections.
Visitors to the NGS will have much to look forward to, as the museum gears up for ambitious programs and enriching projects. International collaborations with leading institutions of modern and contemporary art outside of Singapore, such as Centre Pompidou of Paris and Tate Britain of London, are just some examples of exhibitions in the pipeline.
