The Singapore Art Museum’s mission is to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region so as to facilitate visual arts education, exchange, research and development.

The objectives of the Museum are to collect and conserve artworks representative of this region; curate.

After which by doing that organize and produce exhibitions, publications and public education programmes to promote awareness, appreciation and discussion on visual arts.

Mainstay for Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is one of the first art museums with international standard museum facilities and programmes in Southeast Asia.

It is dedicated to the collection and display of 20th century Singapore and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, SAM joins a league of new generation museums around the world with well-executed exhibitions and community outreach programmes. 

The Museum houses the national art collection of Singapore and has the largest collection in 20th-century Southeast Asian art by a public institution internationally.

Museum's Appreciation of Art

Since its opening, the Museum's permanent collection has grown from under 2,000 art works to over 6,500, making it the largest collection of 20th-century Southeast Asian art in the region. Along with Imaging Selves and Landscape In Southeast Asian Art, both exhibitions featuring its permanent collection, the Museum also curate country focus exhibitions, From There to Now and Soul Ties: The Land & Her People, on Malaysia and Indonesia respectively.  Art of the region is given international exposure through the Museum's traveling exhibition programme.

Community outreach continues to be an important area of the Museum's function. Although the Museum aims to promote awareness and appreciation of art within the local and regional context and in so doing; it hopes to encourage the growth of an active and stimulating cultural environment in Singapore.  This is done not only through the Museum's exhibition programmes but also through its education and public programmes which cover a diversity of art trends and practices, fringe activities and public lectures, which are aimed at reaching the local community at large as well as regional and international visitors to Singapore.

Visitors to the SAM can expect to find an interactive, living centre for art, with advanced museum facilities. 

It has a 10,000-square meter floor space which includes 14 full climate-controlled galleries, a reference library, an auditorium, a multi-purpose hall, a museum shop, courtyards and a café, all together ensure a quality experience for visitors.  Since its opening, the Museum has been stimulating the cultural environment of Singapore and continues to do so with breathtaking shows and exciting programmes.

Special programmes Public programmes which cover a diversity of art trends and practices, fringe activities and public lectures, which are aimed at reaching the local community at large as well as regional and international visitors to Singapore.

Front View of the Singapore Arts Museum