It was announced today that Karin Hindsbo, Director of The National Museum, Oslo, has been appointed the new Director of Tate Modern. She’s taking over from Frances Morris, who has left this month after being in post since 2016.
Hindsbo, 49, said she was “beyond excited” to take over, calling Tate Modern “a leading art museum and a ground-breaking institution”.
“Tate Modern has always been a special place for me and I have had some of my greatest experiences encountering art there,” she went on. “I am eager to continue the magnificent work being done, creating a unique and inspiring museum for a wide and diverse audience.”
Hindsbo was the founding Director of Norway’s National Museum, appointed in 2017. The institution was created under her leadership, consolidating the country’s former National Gallery, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Architecture, and National Touring Exhibitions.
The new museum, which cares for a collection of 400,000 items, was opened in June 2022, in a new 54,600 m2 building. It is the largest museum in the Nordic countries. So on that level, even though Tate Modern is the world’s most popular museum of modern and contemporary art, attracting millions of visitors a year, it should be a breeze – the Tate collection overall numbers around 70,000 artworks.
Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Karin as Director of Tate Modern. The success of the new National Museum in Oslo – delivered in the midst of a global pandemic – is a testament to her skill as a leader. Her nuanced and diverse approach to expressing national and transnational artistic ecologies chimes with Tate Modern’s ethos brilliantly. Working alongside the outstanding team at Tate Modern, I know Karin will bring vision, creativity and a spirit of artistic ambition that will enable us to continue reaching new heights in the years to come.”
Before taking on her role in Oslo, Hindsbo worked as Director of several art institutions and museums in Norway and Denmark, including Kode in Bergen (2014-17), Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand (2012-14), Kunsthal Aarhus (2009-11), and Den Frie Centre for Contemporary Art in Copenhagen (2006-08). She was previously Editor in Chief of Danish cultural journalØjeblikket, an external lecturer at the Institute of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen, and an assistant manager and curator at Overgaden, a contemporary art institute in Copenhagen. She studied at the Aarhus University and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.
Hindsbo will step down from her current role this summer and will begin as Director of Tate Modern in September 2023.
