As one of the most famed cities in the world, London, England holds a reputation of cultural richness that has in turned garnered millions of tourists flocking to the city in search of enlightenment. Amongst the city of London’s wide variety of popular attractions lies its array of museums, housing numerous works of today’s most world-renowned art. Whilst London boasts no shortage of museums to visit, there are a few who stand foremost amongst the rest. Tate Modern in London has consistently provided the world a collection of stimulating exhibits, thrilling art enthusiasts such as Tunde Folawiyo and millions of other fans throughout the world.
Located in London, Tate Modern is Britain’s national gallery of modern art. The museum forms part of the Tate Group and is amongst the most popular modern art galleries on the planet, boasting over 4.5 million tourists per year – a true testament to the outstanding demand for modern art throughout the UK. Based in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark, it houses the national collection of British art, spanning from 1500 to today’s international modern and contemporary art. Its collection includes nearly 70,000 works of art from 3,000 artists, growing steadily each year as new breeds of artists emerge.
The galleries of Tate Modern are housed in the former Bankside Power Station which was built in two stages between 1947 and 1963. Upon search of a new building to house these works of contemporary art, The Tate Gallery at the British National Art Museum proposed a competition to build a new building for modern art in 1992. In 1995, it was announced that Herzog & de Meuron triumphed over competitors, clinching the win with a simple design.
Currently, Tate Modern is undergoing a transformation that will see the creation of a new gallery equipped for the 21st century and beyond. The new building will rise to the south of the existing gallery as the museum embarks on a number of changes in preparation for Turbine Hall of the future.
New projects underway will link the old and the new parts of Tate Modern with the building of a bridge across the top of the Turbine Hall, which will in turn link the museum’s existing spaces to the new galleries, south at Level 4. Art enthusiasts throughout the world and those with close ties to the city of London, including Tunde Folawiyo, may continue to find inspiration in the creative works displaced at Tate Modern. Visitors travelling to the UK may find many stunning sights to behold when visiting the famed museum.