Nottingham gallery founder Alex Farquharson to take helm at Tate Britain

Tate Britain's new director Alex Farquharson today said he was “delighted” after being named as the replacement for Penelope Curtis who left the gallery earlier this year.

The 45-year-old is the founding director of Nottingham Contemporary, which he launched in 2009 to public acclaim with an exhibition of David Hockney’s work from the Sixties.

It follows the resignation of Curtis, the first woman to run the gallery, who announced she was leaving earlier this year after a turbulent five years at the helm. She will begin her role at the prestigious Calouste Gulbenkian museum in Lisbon later this year.

Farquharson, who will start later this year, said: “I am delighted to be joining as director of Tate Britain.

“As the home of 500 years of British art, Tate Britain has a unique and fascinating position in the cultural life of the nation. I look forward to working with a highly skilled and experienced team of curators to share these histories with audiences of all kinds.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate director, said: “Alex Farquharson has established Nottingham Contemporary as one of the leading art galleries in the UK. He has created a programme that serves local and national audiences, working closely with artists and reflecting history as well as the present.”

Under Farquharson, the Nottingham gallery attracted more than one million visitors in its first five years and has been known for its pairing of solo exhibitions and group exhibitions.

He previously co-curated the British Art Show 6 in 2005-2006 and Glenn Ligon: Encounters And Collisions, currently at Tate Liverpool. He has worked with several British and UK-based artists in the last 20 years, and is also a writer and critic.

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