SINGAPORE - Growing up in the 90s, Mr Wan Zi Cheng did not visit any museums, as questions to his parents about these hallowed institutions would be met by how “expensive” their entrance fees were.

These days, the 36-year-old educator takes his four children to visit museums regularly, with cost no longer a consideration. They particularly enjoyed the interactive exhibits at the Gallery Children’s Biennale at the National Gallery Singapore, he said.

“Museums seem a lot more inviting nowadays, and free entrance for Singaporeans is definitely a big plus,” Mr Wan added.

Visits to national museums and heritage institutions here have doubled in the decade since the introduction of free entry for Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs).

Singapore’s national museums and heritage institutions welcomed more than 5.7 million visitors in 2019 before the pandemic hit, up from about 2.8 million visitors in 2012, according to annual Singapore Cultural Statistics reports.

Museums run by the National Heritage Board (NHB) saw visits rise from two million visitors in 2012 to three million in 2019. The statutory board runs nine museums and heritage institutions, including the National Museum of Singapore, the Republic’s oldest museum, and the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).

While visits plunged during Covid-19, the post-pandemic recovery has been strong. The National Gallery, a non-NHB museum that has offered free entry to Singaporeans and PRs since it opened in 2015, had around 1.5 million visitors in 2022 – double that of the previous year and about 90 per cent of pre-Covid-19 visitors.

The trend over the past decade has validated the Government’s decision in 2013 to do away with museum entry fees for Singaporeans and PRs from May that year.

In announcing the move, then Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong noted a “disjoint” – surveys showed that 75 per cent of Singaporeans felt it was important to visit museums and participate in heritage activities, but only 20 per cent actually did so.

A decade on, that gap has been closed significantly as public perception of museums here improved.

The regular Heritage Awareness Survey commissioned by NHB showed that 89 per cent of respondents agreed in 2022 that museums contribute to Singapore’s vibrancy, up 15 percentage points from 2018.

The number who agreed that local museums promote understanding of Singapore’s history, heritage and culture rose by 8 percentage points to 93 per cent over the same period.

These findings put paid to earlier concerns of the Government that scrapping entrance fees would boost public interest only for a short while, before the numbers plateaued and stagnated as the novelty wore off.

Going beyond free

NHB said one reason for the sustained growth in visits to museums here is that its focus is not just on numbers, but also on improving the quality of content and experiences for visitors.

This includes regular revamps and gallery refreshes to keep the museums’ content up-to-date and relevant to the people.

For instance, the ACM has increased its focus on Asian material culture and contemporary works to better celebrate the region’s aesthetics and craft, and to present the art history of Asia through the lens of Singapore as a cosmopolitan Asian port city.

The Peranakan Museum, which reopened in February 2023 after four years of renovations, changed the way it curated its over 800 artefacts to challenge visitors to abandon preconceived ideas of what a Peranakan might look like. Other institutions being revamped include the National Museum and the Malay Heritage Centre.

There is an increased emphasis on co-creating exhibitions and programmes with the different communities to showcase diverse perspectives, and to make the museums more inclusive and welcoming spaces, said NHB’s chief executive Chang Hwee Nee.

These include a recently launched exhibition at the Indian Heritage Centre, co-created with the Malayalee community here, as well as earlier exhibitions about the Chetti Melaka and Sikh communities.

To help less-served communities, such as persons with special needs, experience the national museums and heritage institutions, an initiative called HeritageCares was started in 2016. On-site tours and music and movement programmes have benefited more than 75,000 participants to date, said NHB.

Local museums have become more inclusive. Seniors, including those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, can join dedicated spaces for them such as the National Museum’s Reunion, or participate in the National Gallery’s programme for people with dementia and their caregivers, Art With You.

In short, free admissions are part of a wider strategy to nurture museum-going and help Singaporeans understand who they are, whether as individuals or members of their community and a multicultural society, said Ms Chang.

What’s next

Given this vision, the question is how to maintain the momentum of growth in visits to museums here, and if this should include new audiences.

On the decision to waive entry fees, Mr Wong said in 2013 that Singapore studied other countries, such as Britain, in deciding how to scope free entry to the museums. The Republic landed on “a similar model”, where entry is free across the board except for special exhibitions that involve external partners, which are costly to bring in.

However, the British model is distinct in that its museums are also free for tourists. Successive British governments have said this policy has been a key motivator in drawing international visitors each year, and has made a major contribution to the economy.

Nominated Member of Parliament for the arts sector Usha Chandradas said this is one possible way forward, but it is understandable for Singapore to keep its focus on nurturing citizens’ appreciation for arts and culture.

Some British museums have begun to charge entry fees in recent months to balance their budgets, she noted.

“We are still a relatively young society in terms of museum-going and art appreciation, and I can see why there is a need to prioritise accessibility to the local community,” she added.

“Our arts and culture scene can flourish only if our local community stands with us, and for that to happen, local visitors need to have easy access to spaces like museums.”

In response to queries, NHB indicated that it intends to maintain the current policy, where admission is free for Singaporeans and PRs, and fees are charged to recover costs for programmes with heavy resource requirements.

“This approach best achieves the balance of keeping heritage accessible to Singaporeans while also providing more in-depth experiences for those who want them,” said an NHB spokesman.

Under the five-year heritage masterplan launched in May 2023, museums here will offer more immersive experiences both in-person and online to keep heritage relevant and accessible, he added.

The spokesman said: “We also hope that visitors who enjoy free admission will have their interest piqued to explore more in-depth programmes and experiences.”

Those who have dived deep into local museum offerings include Ms Freda Yu, 27, who is pursuing a master’s in arts and sustainability in Vienna. Over four weekends, she took in all the ACM’s new exhibits and enjoyed the experience.

Yet, most of the people Ms Yu knows in Singapore do not frequent museums, unlike in Europe, and she hopes to see more bite-size and temporary exhibitions to foster museum-going.

“It shouldn’t always be the same permanent exhibitions,” she said.