Parts of National Gallery Singapore reopen after fire closes closure

A fire broke out at the National Gallery Singapore on the morning of Sept 9.

The fire had occurred on the museum's premises within a "small, contained office area". No artworks were damaged.

In a statement to the media at around 10.30am, a spokesperson said the museum will be closed until further notice.

In an update about an hour later, the spokesperson said some parts of the museum that have been deemed safe will reopen to the public from noon on Sept 9.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to the fire involving an electrical control panel located on the first storey of the museum at about 9.05am.

It was extinguished by the Company Emergency Response Team before firefighters arrived. They had used a dry powder fire extinguisher.

No one was hurt and the cause of the fire is being investigated.

The spokesperson said that the museum's City Hall Wing and the Padang Atrium have been declared safe after checks by SCDF. These will reopen at 12pm.

The former Supreme Court Wing, however, will remain closed to facilitate investigations.

"The safety of our visitors, staff, and collections remains our highest priority," the spokesperson said. "We thank everyone for their concern and understanding."

Located in St Andrew's Road, the National Gallery Singapore is housed in the historic former City Hall and Supreme Court buildings. The 60,000 sq m museum cost an estimated $530 million to retrofit and opened officially in November 2015.

It is home to the world's largest public collection of Singapore and South-east Asian modern art, according to its website.

There are currently 13 exhibitions ongoing, including the Gallery Children's Biennale 2025. There are also six guided tours, two virtual activities, as well as workshops and SG Culture Pass activities, its website said.

The National Gallery Singapore, in an update on Facebook at 10.55am, said that some screenings of its international film festival Painting With Light scheduled for Sept 9 will not take place.

This includes the 12.30pm screening of South-east Asia Shorts at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium.

Meanwhile, updates on the 8pm screenings will be provided at a later time. The festival is set to run till Sept 14.

Checks on Google showed that the National Gallery Singapore is listed as temporarily closed as at 10.30am on Sept 9.

The Straits Times has contacted the SCDF for more information.