Karin Hindsbo, Director of The National Museum, Oslo, has been appointed the new Director of Tate Modern. She will replace Frances Morris, who has been at the helm of the job for the last seven years.
Hindsbo has been the Director of The National Museum Oslo since 2017. The institution was created under her leadership, during which she finalised the consolidation of the former National Gallery, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Architecture, and National Touring Exhibitions. The new museum she and her staff developed was opened in June 2022 in a new 54,600 m2 building, which cares for a collection of 400,000 items, making it the largest museum in the Nordic countries.
Before taking on her current role in Oslo, Hindsbo worked as Director of several art institutions and museums in Norway and Denmark, including Kode in Bergen (2014-17), Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand (2012-14), Kunsthal Aarhus (2009-11), and Den Frie Centre for Contemporary Art in Copenhagen (2006-08). She was previously Editor in Chief of the Danish cultural journal Øjeblikket, an external lecturer at the Institute of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen, and an assistant manager and curator at Overgaden, a contemporary art institute in Copenhagen. In addition, she studied at the Aarhus University and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.
Karin Hindsbo said: “Tate Modern is a leading art museum and a ground-breaking institution. I am beyond excited to join the skilled staff and be a part of the Tate organisation. Tate Modern has always been a special place, and I have had some of my greatest experiences encountering art there. I am eager to continue the magnificent work, creating a unique and inspiring museum for a wide and diverse audience.”
Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Karin as Director of Tate Modern. The success of the new National Museum in Oslo – delivered amid a global pandemic – is a testament to her skill as a leader. Her nuanced and diverse approach to expressing national and transnational artistic ecologies perfectly chimes with Tate Modern’s ethos. Working alongside the outstanding team at Tate Modern, I know Karin will bring vision, creativity and a spirit of artistic ambition that will enable us to continue reaching new heights in the years to come.”
Frances Morris was born in London. She studied history of art, receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from the Courtauld Institute of Art. After working at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, Morris joined the Tate Gallery as a curator in the Modern Collection in 1987, became Head of Displays at Tate Modern when it opened in 2000, and Director of Collections (International Art) in 2006. In January 2016, she was appointed director of the Tate Modern. As Director, Morris oversees one of the world’s most popular art museums, with an attendance of over 5.8 million visitors annually; she is also credited with elevating Tate Modern’s profile globally. She is the gallery’s first British and first woman director.
Morris, along with her colleague Iwona Blazwick, was responsible for the initial presentation in 2000 of the Tate Modern’s opening collection displays, organised thematically and in a non-chronological manner by mixing contemporary artworks with those of Monet, Matisse, and Picasso. While the non-chronological style was controversial with art critics, it is now regularly used worldwide by museums and galleries; Tate Modern continues to display its collection in this way.
Karin Hindsbo (born 1974) is a Danish art historian and museum director. She is the current director of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, Norway. She was appointed director of the Tate Modern in London on 28 April 2023. Hindsbo graduated as cand. mag. in art history and history of ideas from the Aarhus University in 2002. She was assigned to Institut for Samtidskunst in Copenhagen from 2002 to 2005 and chaired Den Frie Udstillingsbygning from 2006 to 2011. She was appointed director of Sørlandets Art Museum in Kristiansand from 2012 to 2014 and of KODE Kunstmuseene i Bergen [no] from 2014 to 2017. She edited the art magazine Øjeblikket from 2003 to 2011. From 2003 to 2006, she also lectured at the University of Copenhagen. She was appointed director of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo from 2017
Top Photo: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2022
Karin Hindsbo will step down from her current role this summer and begin as Director of Tate Modern in September 2023.