Guided Tour | Towards Happiness, Prosperity & Progress

Join our docents for a guided tour of Towards Happiness, Prosperity & Progress: Reflections on the Singapore Spirit.

Marking Singapore’s 60th year of independence, The Private Museum closes its year with a landmark exhibition Towards Happiness, Prosperity & Progress: Reflections on the Singapore Spirit, bringing together 60 Singaporean and Singapore-based artists in a profound reflection of the Singapore Spirit.

The title draws from the closing words of the National Pledge, written in 1966 to unite a young and diverse nation. In this exhibition, “happiness, prosperity, and progress” are not fixed destinations but open questions. What do these words mean in 2025, and how do they resonate in our daily lives?

Shaped by a myriad of curatorial perspectives by six curators, the exhibition unfolds as a set of artistic conversations. Some works reflect on belonging, care, and vulnerability; others explore histories, stories, and names that shape how we understand ourselves. Everyday culture, sightseeing, humour, and local codes appear alongside more universal expressions of identity and memory. Themes of loss and reconnection surface too, asking what it takes to feel present again. Elsewhere, ideas of home, virtue and lived experience open space for multiple ways of being Singaporean.

Together, these works do not define the Singapore Spirit but trace its many expressions. They suggest that happiness, prosperity, and progress are not endpoints, but ongoing practices revisited across generations, renewed through art, and shared by all who call Singapore home.

Towards Happiness, Prosperity & Progress: Reflections on the Singapore Spirit is the final instalment of The Private Museum's 2025 programming—offering a fitting closure to a year of artistic and cultural exploration.

The tour will also include an introduction to The Private Museum and the historical Osborne House.

Guided tours are presented in partnership with Friends of the Museum (FOM).

Registration:

Free of charge. Registration is required.

Meeting Point:

The Private Museum

11 Upper Wilkie Road, Singapore 228120

Getting There:

Nearest MRT Train Station is Little India (Exit A via Mackenzie Rd, 750 metres, 10 mins walk)

Cancelled Tours:

Tours are subject to a minimum number of registered visitors. Please contact us at +65 8068 1151 or aW5mbyB8IHRoZXByaXZhdGVtdXNldW0gISBvcmc= if you are unable to join the tour you've registered for.

In case a tour is cancelled, we will notify you as soon as possible.

Please Note:

In registering for the tour, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

• Your personal data may be used and/or disclosed for purposes of data analysis and identity verification and such other related purposes.
• Photos and videos may be taken by the organisers during the tour and used for publicity purposes.
• The visitor will not hold The Private Museum, Friends Of The Museums, and the volunteer guide liable for any loss, damage, illness, personal injury or death or third party claims relating to the volunteer guide's provision of his/her volunteering services.

Also check out other Arts events in Singapore, Exhibitions in Singapore, Meetups in Singapore.