Maria Balshaw to step down as head of Tate next spring

Maria Balshaw will leave her role as director of Tate next spring after nearly a decade at the helm of the multi-site organisation.

The former director of the Whitworth in Manchester joined Tate in June 2017, and has been instrumental in diversifying Tate’s collections, particularly around the gender balance and geographical breadth of new acquisitions.

She ends her leadership by curating a career-spanning exhibition of Tracey Emin at Tate Modern (from 27 February to 31 August 2026).

“It has been an absolute privilege to serve as director of Tate over this last decade and to work with such talented colleagues and artists,” Balshaw said in a statement.

“With 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 a next director who will take the organisation into its next decade of innovation and artistic leadership.

“My greatest thrill has always been to work closely with artists, and so it is fitting that Tracey Emin’s exhibition at Tate Modern will be my final project at Tate.”

Balshaw will leave ahead of Tate Britain opening its new Clore Garden in 2026. The following year, in 2027, Tate Liverpool will reopen following a major transformation of the gallery and Tate St Ives will begin the renovation of the Palais de Danse, Barbara Hepworth’s second studio.

Roland Rudd, the chair of Tate, described Balshaw as a “trailblazer”.

“She has never wavered from her core belief – that more people deserve to experience the full richness of art, and more artists deserve to be part of that story,” he said.

“As the home of British art and of international modern and contemporary art, Tate today reflects the audiences we serve and the artists who make up our nation.

“We engage a wider public than ever before through our own galleries, our digital channels, and our projects in other venues across the UK and the world. Maria has my heartfelt thanks for those achievements and for all her work over the past decade.”

It has not been confirmed when Tate will begin recruiting for a new director.

Balshaw’s tenure at Tate spanned a turbulent time for the institution, which has undergone two restructures in the wake of the Covid pandemic. More than 150 Tate workers recently took part in a weeklong strike across several sites over pay and conditions. The strike ended on 2 December.