National Gallery Singapore Names Chng Hak-Peng as Next CEO
Singapore's National Gallery has chosen its next boss.
Chng Hak-Peng will become chief executive officer of the National Gallery Singapore in Singapore on 1 January 2027, ArtAsiaPacific. The appointment was announced on 28 September 2026, ARTnews.
The handover is set.
He will succeed Dr Eugene Tan. Tan is the Gallery's current chief executive officer and director. He has been director since 2013, a run of more than a decade at the top of the institution.
Tan will step away from the Gallery to focus on leading the Singapore Art Museum in Singapore from 2027, The Straits Times. That reporting was confirmed by a second outlet, CNA Lifestyle. In short, one person will no longer be asked to run two major museums.
For anyone who visits, the job title matters. The chief executive controls the budget, the staffing and the day-to-day running of the building. The director guides the art programme — what goes on the walls, what joins the collection and what goes on tour.
The dates matter too. Chng starts with the new calendar year. Tan picks up the Singapore Art Museum job in the same year. There is no gap in the plan as announced.
What makes this stand out is the clean split. Singapore had lined up Tan to steer both the Gallery and the Museum into 2027. Now each institution gets a dedicated leader. For staff, artists and regular visitors, that means clearer lines of responsibility and a fresh point of contact at the Gallery from January.
