New Tate Modern director named

Tate Modern (Getty Images)

Tate Modern has appointed Chris Dercon, who is in charge of the Haus der Kunst in Munich, as its new director.

The 51-year-old Belgian, who will take up his post next spring, said he was "thrilled" with his new role.

He will replace Vicente Todoli, who is leaving Tate after seven years in the job.

Dercon's involvement in the development of major cultural institutions spans more than 20 years and has been in his current role since 2003.

He said: "I am delighted to join the team at Tate Modern.

"Transforming Tate Modern is an incredibly inspiring challenge allowing us the chance to create a new kind of art institution, fit for the 21st century, for London's many different audiences.

"Thanks to its exceptional staff, Tate Modern is constantly evolving, almost like an art movement in itself.

"Indeed Tate Modern is many things for many people and I am thrilled that I will be part of it."

Dercon has held the posts of programme director at PS1, New York, and director of the Witte de With, Centre of Contemporary Art in Rotterdam.

Before taking up his role in Munich, he was director of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.

Major exhibitions he has developed while in Munich include Gerhard Richter, Large Abstracts in 2009, and Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor's Svayambh in 2007.

He conceived and curated the exhibition Amrita Sher-Gil: An Indian Artist Family of the 20th Century, which was presented at Tate Modern in 2006.

He invited contemporary artists to respond to the architecture of the gallery and last year Chinese artist Ai Weiwei created the work Remembering 2009 for the facade.

Dercon studied art history, theatre studies and film theory in Amsterdam and worked as a freelance arts and culture journalist from 1983 to 1988.

He is also a member of several international advisory boards including Iniva, London since 1993.

Tate director Nicholas Serota said: "Chris Dercon has made some outstanding exhibitions in Munich and has demonstrated a commitment to showing art from across the world.

"We are delighted that he has agreed to lead the team that is taking Tate Modern into its second decade."