When in Singapore: Singapore Art Museum, where modern art resides in an old Catholic boy's school

After a visit to the National Museum of Singapore, the Singapore Art Museum came next on the list.

The Singapore Art Museum, popularly referred to by its acronym SAM today, was once known as the Fine Art Museum. Its address at 71 Bras Basah Road is about 330 meters and a six-minute walk from the National Museum of Singapore. Located just a stone's throw from each other, these two prominent Singaporean museums offer the perfect opportunity to 'kill two birds with one stone.' When visiting the area, why settle for one when you can easily experience both?

Modern art resides in an old Catholic boy's school in Singapore. Yes, the Singapore Art Museum occupied the building of the former St. Joseph's Institution, a 19th-century edifice renovated to house a museum that opened in 1996. Classroom walls were knocked down, a chapel was decommissioned, and a gymnasium was enclosed in glass, transforming them into exhibition spaces.

The Singapore Art Museum is one of the first art museums in Southeast Asia with international-standard museum facilities and programs. With a mission to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, the museum started acquiring works of art by iconic and emerging artists from across the region. Today, with almost eight thousand (and growing) artworks in their collection, SAM holds one of the world's largest public collections of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian artworks.

Living in this museum is contemporary art in its diverse practices—painting, sculpture, installation, film & video, photography, new media, performance art and sound art by the region’s iconic living artists. Through forged partnerships with other art institutions, the regional art gets international exposure, and in turn, Singapore’s art scene is invigorated by the inflow of ideas, talents, knowledge, and resources from abroad. One of these alliances is with a French institution, the Centre Pompidou.

In Paris, the Centre Pompidou is one of my favorite museums. Its architecture and the art it exhibits are innovative and ahead of their time. Its individuality is distinctive amid the fine art houses of Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Degas, etc. Personally, it is one of the most exciting places to visit in Paris, and the Singapore Art Museum brought a piece of this excitement to Singapore.

While Singapore Art Museum’s exhibition of Southeast Asian talents presented in "Negotiating Home, History and Nation" (where Filipino artists were part of) landed on a personal favorite list, the collaborative presentation of SAM and the Centre Pompidou's "Video, an Art, a History 1965-2010: A Selection from the Centre Pompidou and Singapore Art Museum Collections" was quite engaging.

On exhibit until the end of September: “New media traveling exhibition with an added Southeast Asian touch” showcases Singapore Art Museum's own collection of video works and installations by Southeast Asian artists alongside Centre Pompidou's collection by internationally renowned artists. Based on the video and multimedia installations of the Centre Pompidou and SAM, the exhibition recounts the history of this very contemporary field, punctuating the main phases of contemporary art from 1965 to 2010.

The Singapore Art Museum makes it a point that art is to be enjoyed by each member of a family. There is something for the next generation of art lovers at the Art Garden—a well-loved presentation by the museum where Singaporean artists are commissioned to create imaginative and interactive contemporary installations. The exhibition will surely draw out the kid from the young once.

The visit to this modern art museum sealed the deal. The Singapore Art Museum will be at the top of my list whenever I find myself in the Lion City. SAM wants me, and I am returning the love.