Tate Modern counts down to launch of The Tanks

New gallery spaces, The Tanks, are opening at the Tate Modern. Credit: Peter Saville, Hayes Davidson and Herzog and de Meuron

Tate Modern today announced its countdown to the launch of its new exhibition space, The Tanks, on 18 July during the London 2012 Festival. This marks the completion of the first phase of a £215 million expansion project to transform the gallery.

The Tanks will be located in the former power station's underground industrial oil chambers. Tate Modern Director, Nicolas Serota, commented:
'The Tanks will be the first spaces dedicated permanently to live art installation and performance in any museum building anywhere in the world.'

Marking the opening will be a 15-week festival featuring over 40 established and emerging artists from across the world.

In addition to the development of the chambers and planned as part of the expansion, will be a new iconic building to the south of the existing gallery designed by Herzog & de Meuron. A total 21,000 square metres of new space will be added to the Tate Modern, increasing its size by sixty per cent. The overall project is expected to be completed by December 2016.

The expansion has been put in place to reflect a growing public appetite to engage with both art and artists. £162 million has been raised for the project so far, comprising £50 million from the Government, £7 million from the Greater London Authority and the remainder from private donation.

For more information about The Tanks and the expansion project, visit the Tate Modern website.

Tate Gallery is also one of the 53 commissions for The Space, the Arts Council and BBC experimental digital arts media service launching in May. It will be producing 25 new short films covering the best visual art events of 2012 across the country.

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