A new 1,000-seat theatre and contemporary art museum are planned as part of a mixed-use development at the former Tanglin Shopping Centre site in Singapore’s Orchard Road area, with completion targeted for 2030. The announcement was made by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo at the Patron of the Arts Award ceremony on August 27.
The redeveloped site, designed by prominent Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will include a 30-storey building featuring the theatre, a 30,000 square foot private museum, an amphitheatre, retail outlets, and office spaces. The purpose-built theatre, which will span 98,000 square feet across four storeys, will be located along Tanglin Road. Theatre Projects, an international consultancy with experience on over 2,000 theatres globally, will handle its technical design.
Neo, who is also Second Minister for Education, highlighted the growing demand for performance spaces in Singapore, citing more than 7,100 ticketed performances in 2024, more than double the number recorded in 2014. He described the new theatre as an opportunity to bring internationally connected productions to Singapore while maintaining a strong focus on local programming.
The project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), the National Arts Council (NAC), and developer Pacific Eagle Real Estate (PERE). PERE, a firm owned by the family of Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto, acquired the defunct Tanglin Shopping Centre for S$868 million in 2022 and is funding the development, though the investment amount has not been disclosed. Details of the full project are expected to be released in early 2027.
This theatre and museum development is the first cultural project supported under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Strategic Development Incentive scheme, which aims to encourage innovation in redeveloping older buildings. The scheme aligns with URA’s long-term plan to transform the Tanglin precinct into a vibrant arts and artisanal hub.
Pacific Eagle has agreed to waive base rent for the theatre over a 20-year lease period. The NAC plans to invite expressions of interest for an operator to manage the theatre, open to both local and international parties, with the latter required to partner with Singapore-based arts organizations.
The Tanoto Art Foundation, established by Belinda Tanoto, daughter of Sukanto Tanoto, will manage the museum. The foundation’s outreach focuses on fostering dialogue around contemporary Southeast Asian art. Belinda Tanoto emphasized the foundation’s commitment to making art accessible and building bridges across cultures.
Richard Goh, executive director of Pacific Eagle Real Estate, described the theatre as the company’s “public contribution to Singapore’s cultural landscape” and spoke of NAC’s role in ensuring the venue serves artists, audiences, and the wider public while becoming a cultural anchor for the area.
Designed with a flexible proscenium stage comparable in scale to the Esplanade Theatre, the new theatre aims to fill a gap in mid-sized venues, sitting between the Esplanade Theatre’s 1,894 seats and the Victoria Theatre’s 614 seats. It will accommodate a broad range of performing arts, from musical theatre to dance.
This announcement arrives amid a record number of 585 recipients recognized at the 2026 Patron of the Arts Award ceremony, marking the highest number of awardees since the program’s inception in 1983 and underscoring the vibrant growth of Singapore’s arts sector.