Tate Modern

The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international modern art. Each year, the Turner Prize is held at a Tate Gallery and is awarded to an artist under 50 who is either British or primarily working in Great Britain. It is the subject of great controversy and creates much media attention for contemporary British art, as well as attracting demonstrations.

The collections in Tate Modern consist of works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards. The gallery was founded in 1897, as the National Gallery of British Art. When its role was changed to include the national collection of Modern Art as well as the national collection of British art, it was renamed the Tate Gallery after Henry Tate, who had laid the foundations for the collection. The Tate Gallery was housed in the current building occupied by Tate Britain which is situated in Millbank, London.

The Turbine Hall, which once housed the electricity generators of the old power station, is used to display large specially-commissioned works by contemporary artists, between October and March each year in a series sponsored by Unilever.

The museum also has collection exhibitions that are displayed on different levels and are grouped by pivotal moments of twentieth-century art.

The headings are:

•    Material Gestures - This focuses on abstraction, expressionism and abstract expressionism, featuring work by Claude Monet, Anish Kapoor, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse and Tacita Dean.
•    Poetry and Dream - This level features a drawing by the pseudo-anonymous French artist "Proper Man".
•    Energy and Process - This focuses on Arte Povera, with work by artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Jannis Kounellis, Kasimir Malevich, Ana Mendieta, Mario Merz and Jenny Holzer.
•    States of Flux - This focuses on Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism and Pop Art, containing work by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and the photographer Eugène Atget.

Admission is free to the Tate Modern except for special exhibitions. Tickets for specific exhibitions can be booked online at the Tate website or on the phone.

Contact details tel: 020 7887 8888, email [email protected]

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Opening times:

Sunday – Thursday, 10.00–18.00
Friday and Saturday, 10.00–22.00
Last admission into exhibitions 17.15 (Friday and Saturday 21.15)
Closed 24, 25 and 26 December (open as normal on 1 January)

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