Eugene Tan

A leading figure in Singapore’s cultural landscape, Eugene Tan has been instrumental in raising the international profile of Singapore and Southeast Asian art. As chief executive officer and director of National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum (SAM), he has helped shape the ambitions of two of the region’s foremost visual arts institutions.

Tan joined National Gallery Singapore as director in 2013 and became chief executive officer in 2024. Under his leadership, the Gallery celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2025 with major exhibitions. These included City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s, exploring Asian artists’ contributions to Parisian modernism, and Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, featuring French Impressionist works. The Gallery also completed the first major rehang of its DBS Singapore Gallery, unveiling Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art, a fresh account of the nation’s artistic history.

At SAM, which he has directed since 2019, Tan has championed contemporary art through exhibitions and international exchange. The museum organised the 2025 Singapore Biennale, pure intention, featuring more than 80 artists whose works examined everyday life and Singapore’s changing urban environment.

From January 2027, Tan will step away from National Gallery Singapore to devote his attention exclusively to SAM as chief executive officer and director, guiding its next phase of development, with a stronger international outlook while remaining firmly rooted in a Southeast Asian perspective.