Tate Modern says Hello to Hyundai

Doris Salcedo, Shibboleth
Exhibited in the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, 2007 

Olafur Eliasson, The Weather Project
Exhibited in the Tate Turbine Hall, 2003 

Ai Weiwei, Sunflower Seeds
Exhibited in the Tate Turbine Hall, 2010 

On the 20th January 2014 it was announced that the Tate Modern had signed a contact with a new sponsor in order to cover the cost of commissions in their iconic Turbine Hall. The South Korean motor manufacturers, Hyundai, signed a £5m contract that will aim to cover ten years of large-scale installation works within the 3,400 square metres of floorspace made freely accessible to the general public. 

The Turbine Hall, which once housed the electrical generators of the old power station, has been displaying large scale commissioned works by contemporary artists since the art gallery opened in 2000. The project was initially expected to last five years but due to popularity was extended until 2012 under the sponsorship of Unilever. The Unilever Series which ran from 2000 to 2012 displayed work by iconic artists including Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Louis Bourgeois and Rachel Whiteread. 

Hyundai's £5 million sponsorship could be the largest donation to date received by an individual gallery or museum in Britain from the private sector. This contribution highlights another exciting development and reinvention of the Tate enterprise alongside Tate Britain's rehang in 2013.  The director of the Tate Modern, Chris Dercon, emphasised the importance of continuing the commissions within the Turbine Hall, stating 'These commissions have been reflecting major steps, major transformations, major disruptions in the history of contemporary art.' He added, 'Contemporary art is evolving in a different way than just materials and methods. We are faced with a global world of art.'  

The new 'Hyundai Series' is aimed to open in Autumn 2015 alongside the Tate's £215 million extension also majority funded by the private sector.