Tate Modern
A landmark home for modern and contemporary art on the banks of the Thames.
Tate Modern is Britain's national gallery of international modern and contemporary art. It sits on the south bank of the Thames at Bankside, in what used to be Bankside Power Station. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott designed the power station, which was built in stages between 1947 and 1963 and shut down in 1981. The Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron won a competition in 1995 to turn it into a gallery, and Tate Modern opened in May 2000. It quickly became one of the most visited art museums in the world.
The gallery is made up of two linked buildings. The original brick power station is now called the Natalie Bell Building. Next to it is the Blavatnik Building, a twisting brick-latticed tower that opened in 2016 and adds a lot of gallery space, plus a viewing terrace looking out over London. At the centre of the site is the huge Turbine Hall, entered down a long ramp. It hosts a large new artwork commissioned every year. Below ground, the Tanks are former oil storage tanks that have been turned into spaces for live performance and film.
Entry to the collection displays is free. They cover art from 1900 to today and are arranged by theme rather than by date. Paid exhibitions run alongside them, along with tours, talks and evening events. Tate Modern is one of four Tate galleries in the UK. Every year it is the most popular art gallery in the country.
Highlights
- The Turbine Hall is a five-storey former industrial space that hosts a major new commission every year, currently sponsored by Hyundai
- A converted power station designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, with a landmark central chimney facing St Paul's Cathedral across the Millennium Bridge
- The Blavatnik Building extension by Herzog & de Meuron opened in 2016 and has a public viewing terrace with panoramic views of London
- The Tanks are former underground oil tanks, now used for performance, moving-image and installation art
- Free collection displays of international modern and contemporary art from 1900 onwards, arranged by theme
