The Singapore Art Museum’s mission is to preserve and present the art histories and contemporary art practices of Singapore and the Southeast Asian region so as to facilitate visual arts education, exchange, research and development. The objectives of the Museum are to collect and conserve artworks representative of this region; curate, organise and produce exhibitions, publications and public education programmes to promote awareness, appreciation and discussion on visual arts. The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is one of the first art museums with international standard museum facilities and programmes in Southeast Asia. Dedicated to the collection and display of 20th century Singapore and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, SAM joins a league of new generation museums around the world with well-executed exhibitions and community outreach programmes. The Museum houses the national art collection of Singapore and has the largest collection in 20th century Southeast Asian art by a public institution internationally. Located in a restored 19th century building, which once housed St. Joseph’s Institution, a Catholic boys’ school, set up by the La Salle Brothers in 1852, the Museum was officially opened in 1996 after restoration efforts which began in 1993. Within its first year, the Museum staged several major exhibitions including Themes in Southeast Asian Art, A Century of Art in Singapore as well as a collaborative exhibition of Singapore and Australian artists titled Rapport, an exhibition on the photographic works of Arthur Tress, an exploratory exhibition tracing the works of Singapore artist Thomas Yeo and a four-month long blockbuster exhibition from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. The Museum has gained a credible standing with its international counterparts. It has brought in several international shows including Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist-Inventor-Artist, German Art: 1960s to 1970s, The Origins of Modern Art in France, and Monet to Moore: Millennium Gift of The Sara Lee Corporation. These provide a context and forum for art development and practices of Southeast Asia. Currently, the Museum's permanent collection has over 7,000 art works, making it the largest collection of 20th century Southeast Asian art in the region. The art of the region is given international exposure through the Museum's travelling exhibition programme.