Tate Names Jessica Morgan As New Director

Jessica Morgan has today been named the new director of Tate, filling the vacancy left following Maria Balshaw’s decision to depart the London institution at the end of last year. Taking the helm of the organisation’s four galleries on 1 January 2027, Morgan will become the 10th director in Tate’s history.

Morgan is currently director of the New York City-based Dia Art Foundation, a role she has held since 2015. Between 2010 and 2014 she worked at Tate Modern as the Daskalopoulos curator, international art, and before that she was curator at Tate, which saw her organise commissions for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern as well as driving the growth of Tate’s international collection.

Prior to this, Morgan was chief curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and a curator at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. 

She said in a statement: “It is an immense privilege to be asked by the trustees to become the new director. Tate is undoubtedly the world’s foremost institution for international modern and contemporary art and for British art, leading the field through its collection and exhibition programme.

“My time as a curator at Tate deeply informed my work in the last 11 years steering Dia Art Foundation, with artists and our public always at the centre of what we do. I look forward to this pivotal next stage at Tate, and most importantly, continuing and advancing the incredible work of Tate’s committed and talented team in the years to come.”

The start of Morgan’s directorship will coincide with the re-opening of Tate Liverpool, scheduled to take place in 2027 following a large-scale renovation. The organisation as a whole is also in the process of strengthening its financial position in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic—trustees recently approved a “balanced budget” for 2026/27, and the current Frida Kahlo exhibition at Tate Modern broke Tate’s pre-sale ticket record.

Morgan curated the Lee Ufan exhibition at SMAC in Venice, currently on show as a collateral event of the biennale, as well as last year’s group show, Minimal, at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris. She is also on several international advisory boards, including those for MACBA in Barcelona and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai.

Tate chairman Roland Rudd said: “Jessica is an exceptional leader and a deeply respected figure across the sector. Her visionary revitalisation of Dia Art Foundation, as well as her prior experience at Tate and her many years working with artists and institutions around the world, make her the ideal person to lead Tate into a new era.”

Speaking to the Guardian, Rudd acknowledged that, in departing the Dia Art Foundation for Tate, Morgan had accepted a “very big pay cut”, but said he had offered her the most he could “under the constrictions he faced”.

Karin Hindsbo, deputy director of Tate and director of Tate Modern, will continue to serve as Tate’s interim director until the end of the year.