Tate Exchange Associates which includes organisations from the arts, health, education and the charitable sectors invites the public to collaborate on an unprecedented scale in a free, ground-breaking new programme at Tate Modern, from 9 January 2017. This pioneering project, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, will change the way institutions work with each other, tackling subjects such as migration, homelessness, mental health and identity through art. The public will be asked to test ideas and explore new perspectives on over 100 events, illuminating the value of art to society. Tate Exchange is supported by Freelands Foundation, Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Tate Patrons.
Launching today with Central Saint Martins’ inaugural project entitled This is An Art School, students, alumni and staff will enrol the public in free studio workshops, lectures and art classes which will overturn the standard orthodoxies of the art school environment. Together they will explore the future of arts education and look at the barriers to studying and making a career in the arts within the context of the current economic, political and social climate.
Anna Cutler, Tate’s Director of Learning said: ‘Tate Exchange marks a shift in the relationship with our visitors. This is an exchange between what the public brings and what we bring to the conversation. Our visitors carry their own culture with them and can use museums and galleries as creative spaces for exploring what that means. Using art in its many forms, the public and Tate Exchange Associates will shine a spotlight on the challenging issues facing the contemporary world.’
‘We are very excited to have, for the first time at Tate Modern, an open and accessible forum for visitors from a broad diversity of backgrounds to explore for themselves how art can inform and enrich our understanding of the world.’ – Frances Morris Director Tate Modern
The full Tate Exchange Associates programme will look at art and its importance to society. Among the many events will be an open, collective project around migration organised by Counterpoints Arts, Loughborough University, the Open University and the University of Warwick. Homelessness will be examined through workshops drawn from the personal experience of ex-servicemen, artists, and others as well as from a political perspective, organised by the Museum of Homelessness. Using a reconstructed fairground, themes of community, marginalisation, commerce, and carnival will be seen from the perspective of former coal mining communities in Wales and Kent through a project organised by Valleys Kids, Canterbury Christ Church University, People United, the Whitstable Biennale and the University of Kent.
At Tate Liverpool, Tate Exchange was launched in November 2016 and a further 50 events will be presented there between now and September 2017. Highlights include a Tate Liverpool curated film programme, an interactive art stock exchange with Liverpool Hope University, and Visions of the Future events with the University of Liverpool.
Frances Morris, Director, Tate Modern said: ‘We are very excited to have, for the first time at Tate Modern, an open and accessible forum for visitors from a broad diversity of backgrounds to explore for themselves how art can inform and enrich our understanding of the world.’ Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate said: ‘Through art, we celebrate diverse ways of seeing and experiencing the world and freedom of expression. Art has a value itself and can enrich our understanding of a range of other disciplines including ethics, politics, history and the sciences.’
Elisabeth Murdoch, Founder, and Chair of the Freelands Foundation, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to help support this remarkable initiative, which really could change the relationship between the arts and their audiences. We see this as an investment in the future, where art is able to contribute to society, and society supports the creation of art.’
Tate Exchange’s founding Associates include charities, universities and healthcare trusts as well as smaller organisations that include a range of disciplines involving, among others, architects, writers, health professionals and musicians. The Associate’s programme marks the second phase of the annual Tate Exchange programme which opened in September 2016. The first phase involved artist projects which drew the visitor into the museum’s creative process for the first time. Artist highlights included events arranged by the Guerrilla Girls, Raqs Media Collective, Christine Sun Kim, Simone Leigh, Lorraine O’Grady, Rashida Bumbray, Fannie Sosa, Larry Achiampong, David Blandy, Kader Attia, Shannon Jackson and many other artists and collectives.
For full details of the programme visit