Tate Modern Paves The Way For A New Era Of Contemporary Art Programmes

Tate Modern

Tate Modern has unveiled plans for entirely new collection displays, 75% of which will have been acquired since 2000, opening on 17 June 2016. The new displays will demonstrate how the collection has been transformed since Tate Modern first opened. The world’s most popular gallery of modern art will be even more international, diverse and engaging, with works by over 300 artists from around the world displayed across the existing Boiler House and the new Switch House – the most important new cultural building in Britain for almost 20 years.

Director of Tate Modern, Frances Morrison said; “Having enjoyed building Tate’s collection of international art, I can’t wait to see so many new works going on show at Tate Modern in our completely new displays. The dramatic and beautiful new spaces we have available – from the raw industrial Tanks to the refined galleries in the Switch House above – give us an opportunity to tell the story of modern art in fresh and exciting ways. I hope everyone who comes to see Tate Modern this summer will enjoy seeing some of their favorite works, some new surprises and some icons of the future.”

Old friends and new friends will be brought together, with works by Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin and Henri Matisse joining new acquisitions from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, including Meschac Gaba, Sheela Gowda and Cildo Meireles. The most recent work to join the collection will take centre stage in the Turbine Hall: a huge sculpture of a tree almost seven metres tall, created by acclaimed artist Ai Weiwei.

The new Tate Modern will open with three weeks of live art. This free programme, part of the ongoing BMW Tate Live partnership, will include performance-based works from Tate’s collection staged intermittently throughout the building, from Tania Bruguera’s police on horseback, to Tino Sehgal’s gallery attendants bursting into song and Amalia Pica’s actors holding up a string of bunting. The Tanks – the world’s first museum spaces dedicated to live art – will also host new performance commissions running every day from 17 June to 3 July 2016, highlighting the place of live art in the 21st century museum.

Nicholas Serota said; “When we open the new Tate Modern in June 2016, we will be creating a new museum for the 21st century that reflects a truly international view of art. This exciting public building will add a new dimension to UK cultural life. It will give everyone an opportunity to see how the nation’s collection of modern and contemporary art has been transformed, and to experience what a powerful role art can play in all our lives.”

To celebrate the new Tate Modern, the gallery will stay open until 22:00 each evening for an opening weekend of special events, supported by Uniqlo. The centrepiece of the weekend will be a specially-commissioned choral work by artist Peter Liversidge, performed at 17:00 on Saturday 18 June by over 500 singers from community choirs across London. This cycle of songs was inspired by conversations the artist held with gallery staff, construction workers, visitors and local residents. Free screenings of film and video works from Tate’s collection by artists including Derek Jarman, Andrea Fraser and Rabih Mroue will be held throughout each day in the newly refurbished Starr Cinema, while special events for young people and families will take place across the weekend.

As part of Bloomberg Connects, digital technology will be more fully integrated into the experience of Tate Modern than ever before, from immersive ‘Explore’ spaces in the new displays to a unique wayfinding app to guide visitors around the museum. These initiatives will offer a host of new ways to interact, understand and debate modern art.

One of the most exciting developments of the new Tate Modern will be the launch of an ambitious ‘open experiment’ called Tate Exchange. Occupying an entire floor of the new Switch House building, it will invite over 50 organisations to participate in Tate Modern’s creative process for the very first time, running events and projects on site and using art as a way of addressing wider issues in the world around us. The programme will bring together artists such as Guerrilla Girls and Tim Etchells alongside charities, community radio stations, universities and healthcare trusts.

3,000 school children from across the UK, from Orkney to St Ives, will be the first members of the public to see the new Tate Modern at a special preview on Thursday 16 June 2016. Welcomed by artist Bob and Roberta Smith, these children will get an exclusive opportunity to explore the new displays and the new building, and be inspired by modern and contemporary art from around the world.

Tate Modern will display works by over 300 artists from around the world, many for the first time. The iconic works of Mark Rothko and Henri Matisse will be joined by new acquisitions from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, including Meschac Gaba and Cildo Meireles.

Tate Modern opened to the public in May 2000. Located in the former Bankside Power Station, it is the world’s most popular museum of modern and contemporary art, attracting around 5 million visitors each year. It is one of four Tate galleries around the country, and part of a wider network of partner institutions – the Plus Tate network – which champions the visual arts in the UK. Tate manages a growing national collection of over 70,000 works of art, acquired and cared for on behalf of the public and shown in venues throughout the UK and across the world.

SPECIAL PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS TO MARK THE PUBLIC OPENING ON 17 JUNE 2016

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