National Gallery Singapore, Photo: M. Damboldt

Almost 10 years in the making, Singapore’s newest museum is making preparations for its big debut this year end. Before that happens, National Gallery Singapore is offering Singaporeans a sneak peek of its key spaces and an experience of its building history tour before the venue opens its doors to the public.

Singaporeans will be able to take a step back through time on a guided tour of the painstakingly restored spaces of the former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, before one of the world’s most extensive collections of Southeast Asian modern art is carefully installed. The Gallery’s docents will be on hand to provide interesting facts and insights into the storied history of the buildings which had witnessed the formation of the prosperous nation that Singapore has become today. Restored to their former glory and repurposed with contemporary design, these two historic buildings will be permanent home to the DBS Singapore Gallery, UOB Southeast Asia Gallery and Keppel Centre for Art Education.

Visitors will get their first glimpse of the restored City Hall Chamber, one of the most important sites in Singapore history. Not only did the Imperial Japanese armed forces sign 11 copies of the Instrument of Surrender document here in 1945, but this very room also bore witness to the swearing in of Mr Lee Kuan Yew on 5 June 1959.

As part of this significant moment in the birth of Singapore’s newest museum, the Gallery will be giving away more than 100 pairs of passes to the Naked Museum tours on Saturday 2 May through its Facebook page. More details can be found here: www.facebook.com/nationalgallerysg.