Tate has appointed British curator Jessica Morgan as its next director. Morgan is currently serving as director of the Dia Art Foundation in New York and will assume her new role on January 1, 2027, succeeding Maria Balshaw, who stepped down at the end of 2025 after nine years. 

Born in 1968 in London, Morgan is a seasoned art professional whose career began in the early 1990s. After working as a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, where she oversaw several significant exhibitions—including Mona Hatoum’s US debut in 1997—she served as chief curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (1998–2002). In 2002, Morgan became a curator at Tate, later joining Tate Modern as its Daskalopoulos curator for international art (2010–14). During her tenure, she organized numerous shows and new commissions for the Turbine Hall while contributing to the expansion of Tate’s international collection. In 2014, she was the artistic director of the 10th Gwangju Biennale in Korea. 

Over the past 11 years, Morgan has helmed the Dia Art Foundation, supervising its art collection as well as large-scale projects across the nonprofit’s locations in the US and Germany. Under her leadership, Dia staged solo exhibitions for artists such as Agnes Martin, Lee Ufan, Roni Horn, and Tehching Hsieh, among others. 

Morgan’s recent curatorial endeavors include Lee Ufan’s survey at the San Marco Art Centre in Venice, a collateral event of this year’s Venice Biennale; and “Minimal” (2025–26), a major group exhibition at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris. Additionally, she is involved in the advisory boards of various institutions across the globe, from the Haus der Kunst in Munich and the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona to Khao Yai Foundation in Thailand and India’s Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.

In her new role, Morgan will be in charge of Tate’s four venues across the UK: Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, as well as the branches in St Ives and Liverpool. Her appointment comes at a time when the institution is experiencing severe financial strain: since 2019, Tate has faced layoffs, strikes from staff over job insecurity, operational deficits, and a decline in visitors after the pandemic.

In a press release, Tate chairman Roland Rudd emphasized his confidence in Morgan’s ability to transform the struggling institution: “Jessica is an exceptional leader and a deeply respected figure across the sector. Her visionary revitalization of [the] Dia Art Foundation, as well as her prior experience at Tate . . . make her the ideal person to lead Tate into a new era.”

Speaking with The Guardian, Rudd revealed that Morgan accepted a “very big pay cut” for the job. Based on Dia’s tax records, Morgan earned USD 814,000 in 2025, while Balshaw was paid GBP 220,000–225,000 (USD 293,000–300,000) per year at Tate.

Morgan expressed her gratitude over the appointment, describing it as “an immense privilege.” In a statement, she added, “Tate is undoubtedly the world’s foremost institution for international modern and contemporary art and for British art, leading the field through its collection and exhibition program. . . . I look forward to this pivotal next stage at Tate, and most importantly, continuing and advancing the incredible work of Tate’s committed and talented team in the years to come.”

Joyce Lee is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.