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A major landmark on London’s physical and cultural landscape, Tate Modern isn’t just one of London’s top visitor attractions, but also one of the most famous and well-respected art galleries on the planet, playing host to many of the city’s most talked-about art exhibitions, boasting a permanent collection filled with priceless gems and welcoming more than 4.5 million visitors each year.
It’s hard to believe that a gallery with such an immense cultural impact has only been around since 2000 but the South Bank institution indeed celebrates its 25th birthday this May. Appropriately, it will be hosting a four-day rager of a birthday party hosted to mark the occasion
As is befitting of any 25-year-old’s birthday, the weekender will feature two epic late-night parties featuring live music and DJs, with the lively atmosphere and participatory fun that Londoners have come to expect from the gallery’s previous late openings.
Visitors will be able to enjoy live tarot readings as part of Meschac Gaba’s Museum of Contemporary African Art, as well as check out two free exhibitions, A Year in Art: 2050 exploring how artists have imagined the future, and Gathering Ground delving into the ecological crisis and social justice. There’ll also be performances and live installations from Lawrence Lek, Abbas Zahedi and María Magdalena Campos-Pons, plus a series of talks by artists including Nalini Malani and Maxime Jean-Baptiste.
Meanwhile, the Turbine Hall, Corner Café and Terrace Bar will host DJ sets curated by some of the city’s most exciting young cultural collectives, including Peckham listening bar Jumbi, local female-led radio station Foundation FM, British Caribbean festival Radiate and south Asian creative collective Daytimers. The big bash takes place from Friday May 9 to Monday May 12, with further details of the Friday and Saturday night lates expected in due course.
In celebration of the landmark birthday, the gallery will also be bringing back some of the most iconic pieces to have graced the space over the past 25 years, launching a trail of 25 key artworks placed around the building. These include Louise Bourgeois’ 10 metre-tall bronze spider ‘Maman’, which greeted the visitors arriving in the Turbine Hall when the gallery first opened at the start of the millennium, and Mark Rothko’s powerful colour-field paintings, the Seagram murals, alongside lesser-known gems from the likes of Outi Pieski, Edgar Calel and Nalini Malani.
The weekend has been developed in partnership with longstanding sponsor Uniqlo, which will be hosting drop-in creative workshops for families, as well as launching the Uniqlo Tate Shop. Open until mid-September, the pop-up will be peddling limited-edition t-shirts featuring works by the likes of Louise Bourgeois and Salvador Dali, while shoppers will also be able to get their hands on customisable t-shirts, decorate their purchases with personalised embroidery and take part in a host of art-inspired activities at the store.
Speaking about the 25th-anniversary celebrations, the gallery’s Director, Karin Hindsbo, said, ‘Tate Modern’s birthday isn’t just a moment to reflect on 25 years at the cutting edge. It’s a chance to keep pushing artistic boundaries and to give a platform to the next generation. Our birthday weekend will be a truly public celebration of art and creativity to which everyone is invited.’
It sure beats the six pints, two jägerbombs, drunk falafel wrap and monumental hangover that constituted my 25th birthday celebrations.
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