The Southbank Centre has confirmed the appointment of Sally Tallant as Director of the Hayward Gallery. She will replace Ralph Rugoff OBE, who will step down in spring 2026 after two decades in the role. Sally will take up the post in July 2026, assuming responsibility for the Hayward Gallery’s exhibition programme while shaping the visual arts strategy across the wider Southbank Centre site.
Tallant will oversee and curate exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery, alongside commissioning visual arts installations across the Southbank Centre’s public spaces. She will also lead Hayward Gallery Touring, the organisation’s national programme that reaches hundreds of thousands of visitors each year through partnerships with venues across the UK.
Speaking about her appointment, Tallant said: “I’m thrilled to be returning to London as Director of the Hayward Gallery and Visual Arts at the Southbank Centre. It’s a privilege to join Mark Ball and Elaine Bedell, and to build on the extraordinary work of Ralph Rugoff, while helping to shape the next phase of this important civic and cultural institution.”
Tallant currently serves as Director of the Queens Museum in New York, where she has led more than 30 major exhibitions, presenting artists including Fia Backström, Suzanne Lacy, Tracey Rose, Christine Sun Kim, Aliza Nisenbaum, Aki Sasamoto, Lyle Ashton Harris, Pia Camil and Mierle Laderman Ukeles. Alongside its exhibition programme, her tenure has placed strong emphasis on education, public programming and community-led initiatives within one of the most diverse urban populations in the United States. During this period, she also commissioned six permanent public artworks for Delta Airlines Terminal B at LaGuardia Airport, working with artists such as Rashid Johnson, Fred Wilson, Ronny Quevedo, Mariam Ghani and Virginia Overton.
From 2011 to 2019, Tallant was Artistic Director and CEO of Liverpool Biennial, where she led the UK’s largest international contemporary art festival across four editions. Her approach steered the biennial through long-term research, education, partnerships and civic engagement, commissioning more than 120 artists during her tenure. Projects included major exhibitions and public works by artists such as Ugo Rondinone, Peter Blake, Lara Favaretto, Betty Woodman, and Carlos Cruz-Diez, as well as large-scale performance and music events featuring figures such as Meredith Monk and Michael Nyman.
Earlier in her career, Tallant was Head of Programmes at the Serpentine Gallery from 2001 to 2011, overseeing exhibitions, architecture projects and public programmes, and she began her professional life at the Hayward Gallery itself, working as an Assistant Curator in 2001.
Sally Tallant says: “I am delighted to be returning to London as Director of the Hayward Gallery and Visual Arts, Southbank Centre. It is an honour to join Mark Ball and Elaine Bedell, and to build on the outstanding legacy of Ralph Rugoff, shaping the next chapter of this vital cultural destination and civic institution.”
Elaine Bedell OBE, Chief Executive of the Southbank Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sally Tallant as Director of the Hayward Gallery and Visual Arts. She joins us at a pivotal moment, taking leadership of a gallery that has helped shape international contemporary art for six decades. As we approach our 75th anniversary, I’m confident Sally will help carry forward the Festival of Britain’s legacy into a new era of civic ambition and artistic impact.”
Following his departure, Rugoff will continue to work with the Southbank Centre as curatorial advisor on a major retrospective of Anish Kapoor, opening on 16 June 2026 as part of the organisation’s 75th anniversary programme and Visual Arts.
Photo: Photo: Thierry Bal
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