Singapore takes prime position in regional art race with Hong Kong

The world's largest museum dedicated to Southeast Asian art - opening in Singapore in November - will give the public an understanding of "important art", the museum's director has said.

National Gallery Singapore, converted from the city state's historic former Supreme Court and City Hall - which housed the office of Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and where in 1959 he and his Cabinet were sworn in - will boast a total of 64,000 square metres, including 18,000 square metres of exhibition space. It will be home to 8,000 artworks from the country's national collection, said the museum's director Eugene Tan.

"The public in Asia and Southeast Asia have been learning about art through platforms like galleries, auctions and art fairs. [They] don't provide a thorough understanding of what important art is and what important art should be," Tan said.

National Gallery Singapore is just the latest example of the country's ambition in the regional art race. Widely considered one of Hong Kong's greatest rivals, Singapore has invested heavily in the arts in recent years.

By contrast Hong Kong, despite being the world's third largest art market after New York and London and staging Asia's biggest auctions and art fairs including Art Basel, is often criticised for its public museums and arts funding.

The city has finally started construction on M+, the visual culture museum in West Kowloon Cultural District, and officials are planning a facelift for the Museum of Art. Construction was delayed by filibustering in the Legislative Council.