Helen Legg, currently director of Tate Liverpool, has been appointed artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the institution announced on Wednesday.
Legg, who will begin the role in June, will be responsible for the institution’s exhibitions, collections and public programs.
Legg started working at Tate Liverpool in 2018. Under her leadership, the museum underwent a $46 million renovation and completed a “reimagining” of the building in 2023. The museum was originally scheduled to reopen last year, but due to funding delays, the reopening was postponed to 2027, when it will host an exhibition of works by British-Indian artist Chila Kumari Singh Burman. The new Tate Liverpool will feature an arts hall built for large-scale installations, the museum recently said.
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Prior to joining the Tate, Legg was director of Spike Island in Bristol, UK, where he oversaw exhibitions of Charlotte Prodger, Haroon Mirza, Cevdek Erek, Aurélien Froment and, most notably, Lubaina Himid, who was nominated for a Turner Prize for his exhibition at the institution. as art newsAlex Greenberger wrote after the Tate appointment that Legg’s tenure at Spike Island cemented its status as “one of the most important contemporary art venues in England”.
Simon Wallis, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Arts, said Legg was an “ideal” candidate who was “well respected in the arts community and has a proven track record of delivering outstanding exhibitions”.
The Royal Academy has had its share of ups and downs in recent times. The agency conducted a well-received investigation into Kerry James Marshall last autumn, but earlier this year it was forced to cut staff due to a lack of government funding, affecting 15 per cent of its staff. The RA is funded entirely by ticket sales, donations, sponsorships, memberships and other commercial activities.
