National Gallery Singapore is heading into a new year with a substantially changed leadership team. The gallery has confirmed that chief curator Patrick Flores and assistant chief executive Chris Lee will both leave the institution in December. Their departures come alongside the previously announced exit of chief executive and director Eugene Tan, who is stepping down from both roles before 2027, leaving the incoming leadership to steady programmes and staff through the transition.

The next chapter already has a named leader. Chng Hak-Peng, formerly chief executive of the Singapore Symphony Group, is due to take over as chief executive on 1 January 2027. A successor to Tan as director has not yet been named, and interim leadership arrangements are reported to be in place while programmes continue. The gallery is also said to be reviewing future senior appointments, including whether to retain the chief curator post that was created in 2024.

Lee's next move is the clearest of the departures. After ten years at the gallery, he will start on 16 December as chief executive of Medan Pasar Realty and Muara Arts in Kuala Lumpur, a homecoming he has described in personal terms, recalling childhood trips to the Medan Pasar markets with his mother. Flores is reported to be planning a return to the Philippines. Together the exits mark a changing of the guard at one of Southeast Asia's most prominent museums, just as it prepares a major Pop Art exhibition opening on 11 December.