The National Heritage Board (NHB) on Tuesday announced a new director for the National Museum of Singapore.

Ms Chung May Khuen will take over from Ms Angelita Teo, who is leaving for Lausanne, Switzerland, to be director of the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage.

Ms Chung, 44, is currently the National Museum's deputy director of partnerships, exhibitions and collections services. Her appointment takes effect from Sept 20.

"The National Museum has always been close to my heart and I've had the privilege to grow with it at different stages in my career," she told The Straits Times.

"As the people's museum... it continues to play a relevant role in sharing the Singapore story with the nation and the world."

Ms Chung has worked in NHB institutions for more than 20 years and played a key role in revamping the National Museum's permanent galleries in 2015.

She later spent three years at the Heritage Conservation Centre, where she helmed the management and conservation of the National Collection, before returning to the National Museum this year.

Ms Chung has a Master of Arts in fashion history and culture from the University of the Arts London.

She also contributed a chapter on Singapore's fashion and identity to London publisher I.B. Tauris' non-fiction book Fashion In Multiple Chinas, which was released last year.

In a statement, NHB chief executive Chang Hwee Nee called Ms Chung an ideal choice to head the National Museum. "Having taken on different portfolios, she has extensive experience in exhibition curation and audience development, as well as operations and strategic planning for museums."

The museum's chairman Keith Chua added: "I am certain she has the capability, energy and, more importantly, the heart to forge new grounds for the museum, and entrench its position as a well-loved and accessible public institution."