What if the next time you stood before a painting, you closed your eyes? National Gallery Singapore and The Teng Company are inviting visitors to do exactly that with Music for Mindfulness: The Gallery Edition, a bold new collaboration that translates four works from the National Collection into original soundscapes crafted for reflection and wellbeing.
Launching in October 2026 to coincide with World Mental Health Month, the eight-month activation debuts Soundscapes of Art, a dedicated listening space at the Gallery’s City Hall Wing, Level 2, just outside DBS Singapore Galleries 1 and 2. Open daily from 10am to 7pm, the space sits alongside the Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours to Art exhibition, letting visitors hear the compositions while encountering the paintings that inspired them.
The Artworks Behind the Sound
Four pieces from the National Collection serve as the muse: Tan Ping Chiang’s Music (1979), Khoo Sui Hoe’s Sunbathing on Quilts (1977), Abdul Ghani Hamid’s The Face in Meditation (1975), and Jaafar Latiff’s Vision 1/86 (1986). Rather than simply scoring the gallery like a museum playlist, The Teng Company’s compositions respond to each work’s colours, forms and emotional tone. Drawing on Singapore and Southeast Asia’s multicultural musical heritage, the pieces weave together Chinese, Malay and Indian influences through instruments including the guzheng, pipa, erhu, sheng, bansuri, accordion, cello and keyboard.
Therapy-Informed Composition
The pairing is backed by serious research. An art therapist guided the artwork selection, while a music therapist helped shape the compositions, building on The Teng Company’s own studies into mindfulness music. The project also reflects the Gallery’s broader commitment to art, care and inclusive museum experiences—a mission reinforced in December 2025, when National Gallery Singapore was named Asia’s first Healing Arts Centre of Excellence by the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
A Calmer Corner for Sensitive Visitors
The Gallery’s Calm Room on Level B1 will feature specially adapted versions of the four compositions. Designed as a sensory-friendly retreat for visitors who need a moment to rest or regulate, the space layers the music with pulsing monaural beat elements—a technique some studies suggest may help reduce anxiety.
Science Meets Sound
Music for Mindfulness builds on two years of development with the Singapore Institute of Technology. The practice merges The Teng Company’s signature East-meets-West sound with soundwave technology such as binaural beats, producing accessible, easy-listening tracks designed to support relaxation and lower stress.
Music for Mindfulness: The Gallery Edition runs from October 2026 to May 2027. Soundscapes of Art is located at City Hall Wing, Level 2, outside DBS Singapore Galleries 1 and 2, with the Calm Room on Level B1—both open daily from 10am to 7pm.
Whether you’re an art enthusiast or simply in need of a moment of quiet, this exhibition offers a rare chance to experience creativity through a different sense—and perhaps find a little calm along the way.