Category: Museum Director
Nationality: British
Last Year: 7

Steering Britain’s biggest art institution has been a tough job in 2011, but Nicholas Serota has managed it with the steely determination captured in his best publicity shots. While the government may have decided to slice 15 percent off Tate’s grant, the organisation bounced back, announcing an increase in its commercial income and 7.4 million visitors across its four galleries. If you measure success in terms of visitor numbers, then you’ve got every reason to expand, but Tate is still chasing the money it needs to fund the massive Tate Modern additions: the subterranean oil tank spaces (it used to be a power station, remember?) are set to be converted in time for autumn 2012, but the Herzog & de Meuron-designed pyramid extension may have to wait until 2016. The economic climate has definitely put a strain on activities: UBS pulled its major sponsorship last year, redundancies and staff cuts have soured the atmosphere (with accusations of workplace bullying by ex-employees) and the programme across the galleries has shrunk recently. But Tate continues to spread its influence: not content with four galleries of his own, Serota has overseen the expansion of Plus Tate, a partnership scheme which now comprises 18 UK art organizations collaborating with Tate on projects and sharing works from Tate’s collection. On the international front, Tate announced a partnership with Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank, to fund a curator, an acquisitions fund and a series of exhibitions focused on African art.