Latest news with #museumrenovation
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘It's awful', says chairman planning to transform Tate Britain
Tate Britain's chairman has described parts of the museum as 'awful' as he unveiled plans to set up a £150 million endowment fund to secure its future. The Tate is offering naming rights to its Turbine Hall for upwards of £50 million as part of the new fundraising drive, with a goal to raise £150 million by 2030. The museum has already raised £43 million through donations from individuals, foundations and Tate trustees, and it is now appealing to philanthropists from around the world. It launched the Tate Future Fund with a glossy gala dinner in the Turbine Hall, the vast space at the heart of Tate Modern. Roland Rudd, the Tate chairman, who is on a mission to transform the museum, said sections of the gallery, known as the home of British art, currently looked 'old' and 'manky'. 'At the moment, let's be honest, when you go to Tate Britain it is awful,' Mr Rudd told The Times. 'You have got these rows of bushes [at the front] and they look very old, they look manky. People tend to relieve themselves behind them. 'And that café at the bottom is dreadful … it has an awful backdrop.' However, the building's proposed garden, funded by the Clore Duffield Foundation and designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, would be transformative, Mr Rudd said. The chairman added that the endowment fund would be reserved for acquiring the world's best artworks and curators, but donors could specify where their money would be used. 'The whole thing about the Future Fund is to enable us to ensure we have one of the greatest collections of British modern and contemporary art, and some of the greatest curators, because we are in a global marketplace. We have over 50 curators now and we want to add to that number. 'If people want to endow curators or endow directors, all of this is available. Indeed, if someone would like to name the Turbine Hall, this could also be a big thing.' Asked how much it would cost someone to attach their name to the hall, Mr Rudd said: 'A minimum of £50 million.' Tate currently makes around £10 million per year from ticketed exhibitions and £20 million through membership, while 30 per cent of its income is public subsidy. Maria Balshaw, Tate's director, said that the endowment fund 'will allow us to do the wild and extraordinary things that bring people to Tate in the first place'. Next year's programme includes major exhibitions of the works of Tracey Emin and Frida Kahlo, while this November, Tate Britain will have a 'grand face-off' between Turner and Constable. Ms Balshaw said: 'These kinds of exhibitions are absolutely the lifeblood of Tate and they are expensive to put together.' The museum is now going into 'active campaign mode' to raise the remaining money. She said: 'We will start to solicit donations from our very extensive international supporter base. We're lucky at Tate that our brand is so internationally known. 'High net worth donors like to be joining something that they know is going to succeed. We've cultivated that foundation through our closest friends, and there's a really amazing group of people that began with our own Board of Trustees giving to the endowment.' The gala celebrating 25 years of Tate Modern was held for 685 guests, with tables from North America, South Asia, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa. It was designed to impress: the Pet Shop Boys performed, Ruthie Rogers of the River Cafe provided the food, and Peter Saville and Tracey Emin designed the tablecloths and napkins. Ms Balshaw said that Tate is now 'in a stable position after a hard few years of recovering from the pandemic'. She expects the level of government grant-in-aid to remain stable too, adding: 'I fully expect, even in the difficult economic climate, that the government understands the value that museums bring for people.'
BBC News
21-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Norwich castle confirms summer opening after years of delays
Renovations to Norwich Castle Museum are due to end, almost two years after a projected finish date. Work to refurbish the castle's Norman keep began in 2020 but was held up by the pandemic. Dr Tim Pestell, senior curator of archaeology, confirmed the finishing touches were being carried out and objects were ready to be installed in the museum for a summer 2025 opening. "It has been an absolute marathon," he said. Dr Pestell said the castle was only two months away from reopening. "We will open this summer. We are on the final stretch," he said."The display cases are nearly all in now. We have builders doing their tidying up work, ready to come out, and we have the objects ready to be installed. They are being pinned on their backing boards." The project has faced many delays, including some caused by the Covid-19 were problems in obtaining steel, due to the war in Ukraine. In March 2022, the project's contractor Morgan Sindall told the BBC work would be completed by the end of 2023, but more problems arose. Hidden Norman and Victorian features were discovered and a leaking roof needed to be replaced, causing it to miss a revised target of reopening last summer. Named Royal Palace Reborn, the project has included restoring the original floor levels in the keep and recreating the great hall and the apartments of Norman kings. A new gallery of medieval life was also part of the castle has just acquired what is believed to be the largest collection of 7th Century gold coins found in Britain. The collection includes 129 coins, featuring 118 different designs, that were found by two metal detectorists in a west Norfolk field between 2014 and 2020. Dr Pestell said: "It will be an incredible relief to see that open. It has been an absolute marathon, as it has been for all of the members of our team, but it's going to be amazing. "It's going to be well, well worth the wait." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
