National Gallery Singapore’s banner year in 2025: $8.4m in donations, 2.2m visitors
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The National Gallery Singapore attracted 2.2 million visitors for FY2025/2026 through exhibitions and events such as its Light To Night festival.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
- The National Gallery Singapore raised $8.42 million in FY2025/26, boosted by its Gallery Gala and a renewed 10-year partnership with Singtel Group.
- Visitor numbers grew to 2.28 million, with ticket revenue rising to $5.52 million and membership increasing over fivefold to 15,500.
- NGS marked its 10th anniversary with international exhibitions and plans to expand its collection, global reach and community programmes in the coming decade.
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SINGAPORE – The National Gallery Singapore (NGS) reported a bump in contributions and cash donations for the financial year 2025/2026, thanks in part to its Gallery Gala 2025 – A Decade Of Imagination, which raised a record-breaking $2.8 million for the institution.
Held in September 2025, the proceeds helped take the gallery’s tally to $8.42 million for the financial year from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. This is a marked leap from FY2024/2025’s total of $5.01 million, in line with a positive uptick in arts philanthropy for 2025.
The recent Patron of the Arts Awards reported a near doubling of giving in a milestone SG60 year.
The gallery, which turned 10 in 2025, also benefited from a renewal of an agreement with Singtel Group, a founding partner of the museum, which committed to another 10 years in January.
The institution released its annual report on Sept 2. Donations in kind slipped from $3.03 million to $2.29 million. There was also a dip in rental income, from $6.01 million to $5.27 million, as food and beverage outlets in the venue underwent a refresh.
NGS also reported positive trends in visitorship, ticketing and membership. Its 15 exhibitions and festivals drew 2.28 million visitors, an increase from FY2024/2025’s 1.97 million, with 1.7 million people participating in programmes.
Its blockbuster exhibition, Into The Modern: Impressionism From The Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston, proved Impressionism is an evergreen crowd-pleaser, drawing more than 13,000 visitors in its opening weekend and attracting footfall through extended hours in its final days.
More visitors translated to higher ticket takings, from FY2024/2025’s $3.37 million to $5.52 million. Most impressively, its Gallery Insider membership numbers leapt from 3,000 to more than 15,500.
While government grants increased from $55.32 million to $57.92 million, overall expenditure grew faster, from $85.6 million to $93.5 million.
Employee compensation accounted for the most sizeable cost, at $26.88 million, holding fairly steady from FY2024/2025’s $26.35 million. Exhibition expenses increased from $2.4 million to $7.06 million, driven by rising operating costs due to challenges in the global environment.
Eugene Tan, NGS chief executive and director, noted in his message in the annual report that 2025 was a year of significant milestones marking the culmination of work over a decade.
Achievements included taking exhibitions to two countries – Georgette Chen: At Home In The World to China, and a remake of Tropical: Stories From Southeast Asia And Latin America to Mexico – and recognition as a Healing Arts site through the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, in association with the World Health Organization.
NGS chairman Peter Ho in a statement in the report said he believed the gallery had surpassed its founding vision to be “a leading institution for Singapore and South-east Asian art, one that was ambitious in its programming, rigorous in its scholarship and open to all”, and has become “a gallery of the people”.
He added: “The gallery’s second decade will be no less ambitious than its first. We intend to grow our collection, deepen our international reach and expand the community programmes that have come to define our civic role.”