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| Tate Britain appoints Alex Farquharson as director | Tate Britain appoints Alex Farquharson as director |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Tate Britain has hired the founder of Nottingham Contemporary to replace director Penelope Curtis, who presided over an often controversial five years at the organisation. | Tate Britain has hired the founder of Nottingham Contemporary to replace director Penelope Curtis, who presided over an often controversial five years at the organisation. |
| Sir Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, said Alex Farquharson had established Nottingham Contemporary “as one of the leading galleries in the UK”. It is one of a number of regional contemporary art galleries to have opened in the past 10 years. “He has created a programme that serves local and national audiences, working closely with artists and reflecting history as well as the present,” Serota said. | Sir Nicholas Serota, director of Tate, said Alex Farquharson had established Nottingham Contemporary “as one of the leading galleries in the UK”. It is one of a number of regional contemporary art galleries to have opened in the past 10 years. “He has created a programme that serves local and national audiences, working closely with artists and reflecting history as well as the present,” Serota said. |
| Farquharson, 45, replaces Curtis whose tenure at Tate Britain was often railed at by critics. She was widely praised for the gallery’s rehang and for overseeing a £45m renovation, but the exhibition programme was often seen as wanting. One critic, the Sunday Times writer Waldemar Januszczak went as far as calling for her to be sacked: “Curtis has to go. She really does.” | Farquharson, 45, replaces Curtis whose tenure at Tate Britain was often railed at by critics. She was widely praised for the gallery’s rehang and for overseeing a £45m renovation, but the exhibition programme was often seen as wanting. One critic, the Sunday Times writer Waldemar Januszczak went as far as calling for her to be sacked: “Curtis has to go. She really does.” |
| Curtis announced in the spring she was stepping down to take the director’s job at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon. Her departure and Farquharson’s arrival means all the national art galleries in the UK are run by men. | Curtis announced in the spring she was stepping down to take the director’s job at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon. Her departure and Farquharson’s arrival means all the national art galleries in the UK are run by men. |
| Related: Tate Modern boss to leave for leading role at Berlin's Volksbühne theatre | |
| All eyes will be on Tate Britain’s bigger relative, Tate Modern, which will require a new director when Chris Dercon leaves to take charge of Berlin’s experimental Volksbühne theatre in 2017. A leading contender would have to be Sheena Wagstaff. She left her job as chief curator at Tate Modern to take charge of the modern and contemporary art department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. | All eyes will be on Tate Britain’s bigger relative, Tate Modern, which will require a new director when Chris Dercon leaves to take charge of Berlin’s experimental Volksbühne theatre in 2017. A leading contender would have to be Sheena Wagstaff. She left her job as chief curator at Tate Modern to take charge of the modern and contemporary art department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. |
| There is a real sense of the guard changing at the top of Britain’s national galleries. Neil MacGregor leaves the British Museum later this year; Gabriele Finaldi is soon to take over from Nicholas Penny at the National Gallery; Nicholas Cullinan has succeeded Sandy Nairne at the National Portrait Gallery. | There is a real sense of the guard changing at the top of Britain’s national galleries. Neil MacGregor leaves the British Museum later this year; Gabriele Finaldi is soon to take over from Nicholas Penny at the National Gallery; Nicholas Cullinan has succeeded Sandy Nairne at the National Portrait Gallery. |
| Still in place is Serota but, given he is 70 next year, for how much longer? Few would expect any change before the planned 2016 opening of Tate Modern’s £215m extension. | Still in place is Serota but, given he is 70 next year, for how much longer? Few would expect any change before the planned 2016 opening of Tate Modern’s £215m extension. |
| Farquharson said he was delighted to be joining Tate. “As the home of 500 years of British art, Tate Britain has a unique and fascinating position in the cultural life of the nation. I look forward to working with a highly skilled and experienced team of curators to share these histories with audiences of all kinds.” | Farquharson said he was delighted to be joining Tate. “As the home of 500 years of British art, Tate Britain has a unique and fascinating position in the cultural life of the nation. I look forward to working with a highly skilled and experienced team of curators to share these histories with audiences of all kinds.” |
| Before Nottingham, Farquharson was a visiting tutor and research fellow at the Royal College of Art, London. He sits on the Arts Council Collection’s acquisitions committee. In 2009 he was on the selection committee which chose Steve McQueen for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. His time at Nottingham has been widely praised, with the gallery attracting more than a million visitors during the first five years. | Before Nottingham, Farquharson was a visiting tutor and research fellow at the Royal College of Art, London. He sits on the Arts Council Collection’s acquisitions committee. In 2009 he was on the selection committee which chose Steve McQueen for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. His time at Nottingham has been widely praised, with the gallery attracting more than a million visitors during the first five years. |
| One task at Tate Britain, which he joins in the autumn, will be to increase annual visitor numbers which hovered around the 1.6 million mark 10 years ago but were down to 1.36 million in 2014. | |
| Another key job will be to chair the panel deciding who should win the Turner prize. | Another key job will be to chair the panel deciding who should win the Turner prize. |
| Tate Britain’s gain was Nottingham’s loss. Jack Kirkland, the chair of Nottingham Contemporary’s trustees, said: “Alex is one of the great curatorial talents of his generation, and I am excited to see what he will accomplish at Tate Britain. Under Alex, Nottingham Contemporary has become a much respected and well-loved institution, locally, nationally and internationally. I am confident that we will find an outstanding new director to build on all his enormous achievements.” | Tate Britain’s gain was Nottingham’s loss. Jack Kirkland, the chair of Nottingham Contemporary’s trustees, said: “Alex is one of the great curatorial talents of his generation, and I am excited to see what he will accomplish at Tate Britain. Under Alex, Nottingham Contemporary has become a much respected and well-loved institution, locally, nationally and internationally. I am confident that we will find an outstanding new director to build on all his enormous achievements.” |