ABSTRACT
In the late nineteenth century, the fabulously rich industrialist Henry Tate, who had accumulated an enormous fortune by taking out a patent on sugar cubes, financed the construction of an art gallery near the River Thames in London. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, Tate Gallery had grown into a group of four museums with a sizeable collection that embraced painting, drawing, sculpture, prints, photography, film, and installation and performance, ranging from early modern British art to contemporary works by internationally celebrated artists. In 2002 Susan Collins put forward a sensational plan to add another exhibition space to the Tate Group. Details of the artist’s proposal were revealed by Sandy Nairne, who was then in charge of a large-scale reorganization of the existing galleries:
The next Tate site should be in space. At this stage a number of practical aspects of the project are being tested and an early pre-opening programme is being taken forward. This will clearly continue the Tate tradition of innovation and exploration, and provide a radical new location for the display of the collection and for educational projects. 1
