National Gallery S’pore, UOB announce partnership

SINGAPORE — With the National Gallery Singapore set to open in November, another financial institution has come on board as a sponsor.

The museum announced today (Jan 22) its partnership with United Overseas Bank Group (UOB), which will receive naming rights for the South-east Asia Gallery and the City Hall Courtyard spaces.

The new UOB South-east Asian Gallery will occupy 2,000 square metres across three levels at the Old Supreme Court wing.

The donation will go into research and presentation for the museum’s 8,000-strong South-east Asian modern art collection, the world’s largest.

“Through this partnership, the Gallery will be able to work collaboratively with scholars, curators and its peer institutions in South-east Asia,” said museum director Eugene Tan.

UOB, which has been actively involved in the visual arts through its long-running Painting Of The Year competition, will also open up its own extensive collection, comprising 1,500 artworks, for the National Gallery’s exhibitions.

The partnership is a natural extension of the bank’s support for regional art, said Wee Ee Cheong, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UOB Group. “Over the last few decades, we have built an extensive network to serve and to connect our customers across the region. During that time, we have also been supporting artists in the region as part of our community efforts.”

The bank, however, declined to reveal how much it will be pumping into the museum. “As this is a gift, we would rather not disclose the amount. This is a long-term partnership, one that goes beyond monetary contribution,” said Tan Ping Ping, Vice President, Group Strategic Communications and Customer Advocacy.

Last year, DBS Bank donated S$25 million, as well as 26 works from its own collection. In return, it received the naming rights for the museum’s Singapore Gallery.

The National Gallery has also forged partnerships with companies such as Keppel Corporation, which donated S$12 million for its Keppel Centre for Art Education, and technology firm Accenture, which will help develop its digital technologies as well as an app.

These sponsorship and partnership link-ups would seem to echo a similar strategy used by Singapore Sports Hub, which has given naming rights to OCBC Bank, for example, for its aquatic centre.

National Gallery chief executive officer Chong Siak Ching said they are open to similar collaborations, provided it ties in with the museum’s vision. “As a non-profit organisation, the Gallery is constantly cultivating donors and partners for their support. Such gifts will be suitably recognised through naming of our facilities, exhibitions and programmes where appropriate.”

She also pointed out how many major non-profit museums around the world regularly seek the support of patrons for financial sustainability.

Spanning a total of 60,000 square metres across the Old Supreme Court Building and City Hall, the National Gallery Singapore is currently being built at an estimated cost of S$532 million.