National Gallery Singapore

The National Gallery Singapore is Southeast Asia's largest visual arts museum — housed in two of the most significant colonial buildings on the island (the former Supreme Court and City Hall), connected by a dramatic glass-and-steel canopy that bridges the gap between heritage architecture and contemporary museum design. The conversion, completed in 2015, preserved the colonial facades and courtrooms while inserting 64,000 square metres of gallery space into structures that were never designed to hold art.

City Hall is historically loaded — this is the building where Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945, ending the occupation of Southeast Asia, and where Lee Kuan Yew was sworn in as Singapore's first Prime Minister in 1959. The former Supreme Court's Corinthian columns and dome are some of the finest colonial architecture in the region. Walking through these buildings now, surrounded by contemporary art where colonial power was once administered, creates a tension that the museum embraces rather than resolves.

The permanent collection focuses on Singaporean and Southeast Asian art from the 19th century to the present — a perspective that most Western museums ignore entirely. The DBS Singapore Gallery traces the development of Singaporean art from colonial-era portraits through nationalist movements to contemporary practice, and the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery provides the regional context that explains why Singapore's art scene is more interesting than its small size would suggest. The rooftop bar, Smoke & Mirrors, offers one of the best views of the Padang and Marina Bay.