Somewhere in your drafts sits a TikTok you never posted, because who’s even going to watch it? National Gallery Singapore has an answer, and it comes with a paycheque.
The museum has opened applications for its first TikTok Creative Residency, a paid, four-month programme for one Singapore-based creator. Whoever gets picked takes over the Gallery’s TikTok feed from December 2026 to March 2027 and earns S$3,000 a month doing it. Applications close on 4 October 2026, and you don’t need a big following to apply.
The Gallery says this is the first museum-led programme of its kind in Southeast Asia. It launches as the museum enters its second decade, and the museum inside the City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings now wants a resident TikToker.
S$3,000 a Month, Zero Follower Minimum
Money first, since that’s what everyone scrolls down for. The chosen creator gets a stipend of S$3,000 per month, which adds up to S$12,000 over the four months. It comes with creative mentorship and chances to swap ideas with Gallery staff from different parts of the museum.
Then there’s the line that should get far more people applying. The Gallery says applicants don’t need an established following, and it will judge proposals on how strong and original the ideas are, not on follower count. A creator with 300 followers and one sharp concept has a genuine shot.
Here, the idea is the audition.
One thing to check first: the open call is for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs) only.
Pop Art Was Made for This
Four months at the Gallery covers a busy stretch of its calendar, and the resident will make content around three headline events. Top of the list is Pop after Pop: Art around Us, which the Gallery calls the largest group exhibition of Pop Art ever staged in Southeast Asia. The other two are Light to Night Singapore 2027, the Gallery’s flagship visual arts festival that runs from day into night, and Singapore Art Week 2027, the country’s yearly celebration of the visual arts.
Of the three, Pop after Pop is the one to get excited about. Pop Art has always borrowed from ads, comics and supermarket shelves, so putting it on the internet’s loudest feed feels like a homecoming. Light to Night goes from daylight into the evening, which is perfect for anyone who loves a before-and-after edit.
The best perk is what happens behind the scenes. The creator gets ongoing access to the Gallery’s staff, exhibitions and collections, plus selected behind-the-scenes activities. That covers everything from putting exhibitions together and installing them to the museum’s everyday work. Most visitors only see the finished room, so a clip of a Pop Art show going up piece by piece is the kind people watch twice.
Three Videos a Week, Minimum
This is a proper content schedule, so plan around it. The creator has to make a minimum of three to four original videos each week for the Gallery’s TikTok channel. They’ll work with the Gallery’s teams but keep their own creative voice. Four months is roughly 17 weeks, so expect about 50 videos or more by March. If you’re juggling school or a day job, work out whether you can keep that pace before you apply.
You can make pretty much any kind of video, from quick, spontaneous observations and experiments to longer stories about the Gallery’s exhibitions, people and spaces. The Gallery already works with creators and agencies on TikTok, which it calls an important way to reach people in Singapore and across the region. What’s new is time: one creator, based inside the museum for four straight months.
The people are where short videos work best. Take a TikTok series on hawkers that began when its creator, Raphael, asked a mama shop (a neighbourhood provision store) owner if he could film him. The owner, Uncle Lim, later thanked him for documenting his life’s work. A museum’s daily work could hold stories like that, and this residency puts a creator right next to them.
Aun Koh, Assistant Chief Executive, Marketing and Development at National Gallery Singapore, describes the residency as an experiment. “TikTok has its own visual language, creative possibilities, and communities, and we want to explore what museum storytelling on the platform could become,” he says. He adds that the residency opens up the Gallery “to a creator who can bring their own voice and curiosity, help us see the museum differently, and find new ways for audiences to connect with art.”
“Help us see the museum differently” is a generous brief. It’s the most exciting line in the whole announcement, because it means the Gallery wants to be surprised on its own feed.
How to Get Picked
You need two things to apply. The first is a portfolio of short-form videos that shows your creativity, storytelling and video-production skills. The second is a proposal explaining how you’d approach the residency and get people interested in the Gallery through TikTok.
The Gallery will look at how original your creative voice is and how strong your plan is. It also wants to see that you understand TikTok’s formats and communities, and that you can make art and museum stories fun and easy to get into. Applicants who make the shortlist will be invited to an interview.
Since follower count doesn’t matter, the proposal is what counts most. A specific pitch, like a recurring series or a format built around Pop after Pop, gives the Gallery something concrete to picture. That will do more for you than a vague promise to make art fun.
The benefits last past March, too. The Gallery says it holds the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian art. The Art Newspaper has also ranked it among Asia’s Top 10 most visited museums every year since 2019. Four months running that feed would look great in any creator’s portfolio.
You’ve got about three weeks from launch to deadline, so the kiasu move (Singlish for being scared of missing out) is to start cutting your portfolio this week.
🗓️ Date: Applications open 14 September 2026 and close 4 October 2026
📍 Location: National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957
⏳ Residency Period: December 2026 to March 2027
💰 Stipend: S$3,000 per month (S$12,000 over four months), plus creative mentorship
🎬 Commitment: A minimum of three to four original videos a week for the Gallery’s TikTok channel
🪪 Eligibility: Singapore Citizens and Singapore PRs, with no minimum following required
📝 To Apply: A portfolio of short-form videos plus a proposal; shortlisted applicants are interviewed
If making three videos a week inside two national monuments sounds like your kind of homework, check out National Gallery Singapore’s TikTok Creative Residency page for everything you need to apply. Set a reminder for 4 October 2026 so you don’t miss the deadline, and let your ideas do the talking.
Visuals courtesy of National Gallery Singapore.
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