What's On at the Gallery: August 2026
With one closing exhibition and two exciting new openings, here's everything happening at National Gallery Singapore in August 2026 – from talks and workshops to family programmes, there's something for everyone.
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Summary:
- He Xiangning: Ink & Intent closes 23 Aug 2026 – General Admission ticket required.
- Curator Tour (Mandarin): He Xiangning: Ink & Intent on 22 Aug 2026, 7.30–8.30pm – $55 (Standard), $50 (Concession).
- Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art (R18) now closes 20 Sep 2026 – tickets from $5.
- Talks in Response to Passion is Volcanic (R18) on 2 Aug 2026 – free, registration required, ages 18 and above only.
- Lai Foong Moi: Crossings opens 14 Aug 2026 – General Admission ticket required.
- Art Remembers opens 21 Aug 2026 – General Admission ticket required.
- In Her Own Words: Centring Nirmala Dutt on 23 Aug 2026, 2–3.30pm – free, registration required.
- Gallery StoryMakers! on 8 Aug 2026, 11am–12pm – for children ages 4–8, $15 per person.
August is a big month at National Gallery Singapore, with an exhibition in its closing weeks and two more ready to open their doors. If you're looking for things to do in Singapore this August – from art exhibitions and free talks to hands-on workshops and family storytelling adventures – there's plenty to keep you busy. Here's everything happening at the Gallery this month.
Last weeks for He Xiangning: Ink & Intent | 何香凝：画就丹青凭寄意
When: Closes 23 Aug 2026
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 4, Wu Guanzhong Gallery
Admission: General Admission ticket required, free for Singaporeans and PRs
Don’t miss the last weeks of He Xiangning: Ink & Intent before it closes on 23rd August! Presented in Singapore for the first time, this is the largest travelling exhibition of works by He Xiangning (何香凝) – a leading ink artist and influential political figure who played a significant role in the development of modern China. Featuring over 50 ink works and extensive archival materials, the exhibition reconnects her artistic practice to Chinese modern art, Singapore, Penang and the wider region's art history.
Catch it while you can and consider joining a guided tour to go deeper into her world before the exhibition closes. English-language tours run from Thursdays to Sundays at 11am, while Mandarin-language tours run on weekends at 2pm. Tour bookings are available onsite!
Curator Tour (Mandarin): He Xiangning: Ink & Intent | 策展人导览（华语）：何香凝：画就丹青凭寄意 – Ticketed Tour
When: 22 Aug 2026, 7.30–8.30pm
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 4, Wu Guanzhong Gallery
Admission: $55 (Standard), $50 (Concession)
A rare opportunity to go deeper into He Xiangning's world before the exhibition closes. Led by Curator Lim Shujuan, this special evening tour moves through the exhibition with a close reading of He Xiangning's paintings, poems, calligraphies, and archival materials — tracing how her recurring motifs of plum blossoms, lions, and tigers speak to personal fortitude and a nation in transformation. This after-hours tour includes two All Access passes valid for three months (worth $30 for Singapore Citizens/PRs; $60 for other nationalities).
This tour is conducted in Mandarin.
Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art (R18) is Extended
When: Extended to 20 Sep 2026
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 4, Level 4 Gallery
Admission: Tickets from $5; open to visitors aged 18 and above only. Available onsite at the Gallery
Great news – Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art (R18) has been extended, giving you more time to experience one of the Gallery's most provocative exhibitions. Exploring how desire, eroticism and the body have shaped artistic practices across Southeast Asia, it brings together rarely seen works from the National Collection alongside significant regional loans. Organised across three sections, the exhibition traces how desire has been expressed, contested, and reimagined across different cultural and historical moments.
Do note that valid ID may be required prior to entry, and photography and videography are not permitted within the exhibition.
Take Part in Free Talks in Response to Passion is Volcanic (R18)
When: 2 Aug 2026
Where: National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing, Level B1, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium
Admission: Free, registration required. Open to visitors aged 18 and above only
Take part in a full afternoon of ideas tied to Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art (R18) – two back-to-back programmes, both free with registration. At 2pm, trans feminist poet and theorist Jaya Jacobo delivers Fervid: A Vision of Love in Flames – a lecture and poetic response to the exhibition exploring transfeminine desire and gender across Southeast Asia.
At 4pm, curator Kathleen Ditzig moderates Image and Metamorphosis – a panel bringing together researcher Andrew Ng, social advocate June Chua, and artist Marla Bendini to discuss image-making and archives in queer and trans histories in Singapore.
Register for Image and Metamorphosis
Lai Foong Moi: Crossings – New Exhibition Opening
When: Opens 14 Aug 2026
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 2, DBS Singapore Gallery
Admission: General Admission ticket required, free for Singaporeans, PRs and Insiders
Opening mid-August, Lai Foong Moi: Crossings introduces one of Singapore's significant Nanyang Artists to a new audience. Framed through the idea of "crossings" – as moments of transition, encounter, and becoming – the exhibition examines how Lai Foong Moi (1931–1995) pictured identity and modern life in 1960s Singapore and Malaya, a period of profound national reimagination. Working across portraiture, still life, and landscape, her attention to gender, labour, and urban change offers a distinct window into Singapore’s pre- and post-independence period.
Art Remembers – New Exhibition Opening
When: Opens 21 Aug 2026
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 3, Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery 1 and City Hall Chamber
Admission: General Admission ticket required, free for Singaporeans, PRs and Insiders
The second major opening of the month, Art Remembers brings together 20 contemporary artworks by Southeast Asian artists to examine how art can address forgotten and marginalised histories. Working with archives and personal records, the artists open up new possibilities for how these stories can be seen from a contemporary perspective – positioning art as a record of history and the artist as a storyteller of a shared past. A timely and quietly powerful addition to August's programme, and a great reason to return to the Gallery later in the month.
Join a free talk – In Her Own Words: Centring Nirmala Dutt
When: 23 Aug 2026, 2–3.30pm
Where: Supreme Court Wing, Level 5, Glass Room
Admission: Free, registration required
A conversation centring the life and work of the late Nirmala Dutt (1941–2016), held in conjunction with the exhibition Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise. Cultural worker Snow Ng – who was in close contact with Nirmala Dutt in her later years – joins Curator Joleen Loh for a discussion drawing on archival material, personal notes, and writing from the artist herself. Moderated by Lucas Huang, the talk illuminates a practice deeply shaped by empathy, social engagement, and the belief that art can speak truth to power.
Join Gallery StoryMakers! as a Family
When: 8 Aug 2026, 11am – 12pm
Where: City Hall Wing, Level 2, Singapore Courtyard
Admission: $15 per person, recommended for children ages 4–8
This August, Gallery StoryMakers! takes inspiration from Chen Wen Hsi's Gibbons, bringing families on a nature-inspired adventure through the Gallery in search of animals with a trusty pair of super binoculars. Along the way, children and parents encounter surprises, uncover clues, and discover how artists observe the world around them, all through dramatic storytelling and imaginative play – making for a lovely morning out for the whole family.
Each ticket admits one person, and all children must be accompanied by at least one adult who will also require their own ticket.
Register for this programme here
Plan Your Visit
The Gallery is open daily, from 10am – 7pm (last admission at 6.30pm). Nearest MRT stations include City Hall MRT (Exit B), Clarke Quay MRT (Exit E), and Raffles Place MRT (Exit B).
Planning to visit more than once or looking for things to do in Singapore this August? Sign up as a Gallery Insider to enjoy up to 15% off dining and retail, free and unlimited access to all exhibitions, and priority updates on programmes.
