On May 11, 2000, the Tate Modern opened its doors, marking a bold new chapter in contemporary art. Now, 20 years later, the institution celebrates two decades of innovation and inspiration. While the current global challenges have muted the festivities, they can’t overshadow the Tate’s remarkable contribution to the art world.
Since its launch, the Tate Modern has welcomed nearly 100 million visitors, showcasing iconic works by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí, and Pablo Picasso. It has even hosted the premiere of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, reflecting its broad cultural reach.
Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the gallery just three months into the new millennium, and its debut year drew an astonishing 5.25 million visitors—more than double the combined attendance of the other three Tate galleries.
Housed in the former Bankside Power Station, the Tate Modern was born from a visionary reuse of a building once destined for demolition. Its success led to a £260 million expansion in 2016, which included converting three underground oil tanks into spaces for performance art and constructing a ten-story tower. Originally named the Switch House, the tower was later renamed the Blavatnik Building in honor of philanthropist Sir Leonard Blavatnik.
Before the pandemic disrupted public life, the Tate had planned a special 20th-anniversary program. Highlights included a year-long exhibition of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Rooms and the return of Louise Bourgeois’s monumental spider sculpture, Maman. These exhibitions have been postponed, but there’s hope they’ll be revived once circumstances allow.
At ARTraiders, we eagerly await the Tate Modern’s return to doing what it does best: pushing boundaries and bringing world-class contemporary art to London. Happy birthday, Tate Modern—here’s to many more years of creative brilliance.