Maria Balshaw is to step down as the director of Tate in 2026, after a challenging nine-year tenure when she steered the organisation through the Covid-19 pandemic and had to deal with fluctuating attendance figures and financial instability.<\/p>\n
Balshaw, who joined as director in June 2017 after a celebrated spell as the leader of the Whitworth in Manchester, said it was a privilege to serve as director but now was the time for her to move on.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWith a growing and increasingly diverse audience, and with a brilliant forward plan in place, I feel now is the right time to pass on the baton to the next director. My greatest thrill has always been to work closely with artists, and so it is fitting that Tracey Emin\u2019s exhibition<\/a> will be my final project at Tate.\u201d<\/p>\n Balshaw was described as a \u201ctrailblazer\u201d by the Tate chair, Roland Rudd, who said she \u201chas never wavered from her core belief \u2013 that more people deserve to experience the full richness of art, and more artists deserve to be part of that story\u201d.<\/p>\n Balshaw had the unenviable task of taking over from Nicholas Serota, the long-serving director, who established Tate Modern<\/a> 25 years ago and is currently chair of Arts Council England.<\/p>\n She oversaw several successful projects, including Steve McQueen\u2019s Year 3<\/a> \u2013 when the artist took a \u201ccollective school portrait\u201d of 76,000 seven and eight-year-olds from across London.<\/p>\n Group shows, including Women in Revolt<\/a> and Life Between Islands<\/a> highlighted previously marginalised artists, something Balshaw was proud of, while there were major shows for Leigh Bowery and Emily Kam Kngwarray.<\/p>\n The director was also critical of arts organisations taking sponsorship from fossil fuel companies. Balshaw said \u201cthe public has moved to a position where they think it is inappropriate\u201d, adding that Nicholas Cullinan, the director of the British Museum, which has a \u00a350m deal with BP \u2013 would have to deal with \u201cpublic dismay\u201d over the sponsorship. Tate dropped its deal with BP in 2016.<\/p>\n There were also some high-profile scandals, including in 2022 when the Guardian revealed the organisation paid a six-figure settlement<\/a> to two artists after they alleged discrimination, victimisation and harassment.<\/p>\n Balshaw inherited a large, multi-site institution with four locations across the UK and rising running costs, all of which were severely impacted by the pandemic.<\/p>\n There were other redundancies in 2020, as Tate attempted to save \u00a34.8m during the Covid-19 lockdown. This year, Tate announced it would cut 7% of its workforce in an effort to reduce its pandemic-driven funding deficit.<\/p>\n Staff represented by the PCS union have recently gone on strike over pay and conditions, and the industrial action could continue into 2026.<\/p>\n Figures released in March showed that Tate Modern and Tate Britain<\/a> had experienced a 27% decline in attendance since 2019 \u2013 although, as Balshaw said in a letter to the Guardian, 2019 was Tate\u2019s most successful year ever for visitor numbers.<\/a><\/p>\n Tate Modern, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year<\/a>, welcomed more than 76,000 people during its birthday weekend \u2013 a turnout insiders hope could signal a rebound in 2025.<\/p>\n