Helen Legg, the current director of the Tate Liverpool, has been appointed as artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the institution announced Wednesday.
Legg will start in the role in June and will be responsible for the institution’s exhibitions, collection, and public programs.
Her tenure at the Tate Liverpool began in 2018. Under her leadership, the museum underwent a $46 million renovation, closing in 2023 for a “reimagining” of the building. It was originally set to reopen last year, but funding delays pushed the relaunch to 2027, when it will open with a exhibition of works by British-Indian artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman. The new Tate Liverpool will feature an art hall built for large-scale installations, the museum said.
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Prior to the Tate, Legg served as director of Spike Island in Bristol, England, overseeing exhibitions for Charlotte Prodger, Haroon Mirza, Cevdek Erek, Aurélien Froment, and, most notably, Lubaina Himid, who went on to receive a Turner Prize nomination for her outing at the institution. As ARTnews‘s Alex Greenberger wrote upon her appointment to the Tate, Legg’s tenure at Spike Island solidified its place as “one of the most important contemporary art venues in England.”
Simon Wallis, the chief executive of the Royal Academy, said that Legg was the “ideal” canddiate, who is “highly respected in the art world and has a proven track record in delivering exceptional exhibitions.”
The Royal Academy has had its ups and downs as of late. Its survey of Kerry James Marshall last fall was celebrated, but earlier in the year, it was forced to conduct layoffs affecting 15 percent of the workforce, due to the institution’s lack of government funding. The RA is solely funded by ticket sales, donations, sponsorships, memberships, and other commercial activities.