Britain’s Tate art museums get first female chief

Maria Balshaw has been named as the new director of the Tate group of art museums in Britain, assuming the top position at one of the most important museum organisations in the world.

The 46-year-old will succeed Nicholas Serota in one of the most influential jobs in the country’s arts industry after transforming Manchester’s cultural landscape.

“I am honoured to be asked by the trustees of Tate to become the new director,” said Balshaw, who takes over on June 1.

“Under Nicholas Serota’s leadership, Tate has changed forever how we all think about art and artists, and has made visual art a central part of a vibrant cultural life in the UK.”

The incoming director, Tate’s ninth, vowed to develop the institution’s reputation as “the most artistically adventurous and culturally inclusive gallery in the world”.

Serota has run Tate for almost 30 years, transforming it into a global brand. He is leaving to become the chairman of Arts Council England. He masterminded the creation of London’s Tate Modern, the world’s most popular modern art museum, and oversaw the institution’s other three galleries: Tate Britain in London, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives.