As we navigate through 2024 and look ahead to 2025, the Tate Gallery stands at the vanguard of contemporary and historical art in the UK, continuing to redefine the boundaries of visual creativity. Spanning across its four distinct galleries—Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St Ives—the Tate’s upcoming exhibitions promise a remarkable blend of avant-garde expressions, retrospectives of iconic figures, and explorations of emergent global art trends. The Tate’s unwavering commitment to diversifying artistic narratives, fostering inclusivity, and reflecting contemporary societal issues through art ensures that the coming years will be marked by dynamic and thought-provoking exhibitions.
Thematic Curations at Tate Modern: A Study of Contemporary Pulse
Tate Modern, the architectural icon on the banks of the Thames, remains a focal point for avant-garde and global contemporary art. In 2024 and 2025, it continues to amplify voices that shape and challenge modern discourse.
2024: The Digital and the Tangible
In 2024, one of the most anticipated exhibitions is "Digital Echoes: Art in the Age of the Algorithm." This forward-thinking exhibition engages with the profound transformations brought by digital technology, artificial intelligence, and the proliferation of social media, asking critical questions about the nature of art in an era of algorithmic curation. Artists like Refik Anadol and Hito Steyerl are expected to feature prominently, exploring the intersection of machine learning and human creativity. Their works invite visitors to question how digital environments reshape our perceptions of reality, memory, and identity. Immersive installations will blur the lines between the virtual and physical, urging attendees to rethink what constitutes ‘authentic’ artistic experience.
2025: Retrospectives and Futures
Tate Modern’s 2025 programme offers a landmark retrospective on one of the most elusive figures in contemporary art, Agnes Martin. This expansive exhibition seeks to trace her enigmatic journey through abstraction and minimalist gestures, examining how her grid-based works communicate transcendent emotions despite their apparent simplicity. The curation will contrast Martin's serene, meditative forms with the chaotic energy of today’s digital world, offering a space for quiet reflection amidst the rapid pace of modern life. 2025 also marks the 30 year anniversary of Art Now, Tate Britain's ongoing series of free exhibitions showcasing emerging artistic talent.
Simultaneously, Tate Modern is set to explore "Emergent Ecologies," a timely exhibition responding to global environmental crises. Bringing together artists from across continents, this show will highlight how different cultures articulate ecological devastation and climate resilience through art. It promises to showcase groundbreaking work by figures such as Olafur Eliasson and Indian artist Shilpa Gupta, whose politically engaged art investigates environmental justice and activism.
Tate Britain: A National Narrative Revisited
At Tate Britain, the gallery’s exploration of the British identity through art continues with fresh and ambitious programming in 2024 and 2025. Long celebrated for its role in preserving British art from the sixteenth century to today, the coming exhibitions will interrogate the country’s artistic evolution alongside its social and political history.
2024: Reclaiming the Canon
In 2024, Tate Britain will present "Reclaiming the Canvas: Women Artists in British Art," an exhibition that rewrites the often male-dominated narrative of British art history. With a focus on previously overlooked women artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, this show will elevate figures like Gwen John, Vanessa Bell, and Dora Carrington, foregrounding their contributions to both painting and the avant-garde movements of their time. The exhibition is significant not only for correcting historical oversight but also for contextualising these artists within the broader cultural shifts they influenced.
Simultaneously, “The British Portrait, Reimagined” will dive into the evolution of portraiture, offering a comprehensive survey that spans over four centuries of British art. From Tudor portraits to contemporary photographic work, this exhibition reflects on the ways in which British identity—be it national, gendered, or class-based—has been visually constructed and deconstructed.
Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives: Regional and Global Conversations
Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives may often be considered Tate’s regional outposts, but their 2024-2025 programmes show they are very much at the centre of contemporary artistic conversations, both globally and locally.
Tate Liverpool: Cultural Hybridity and Urban Life
In 2024, Tate Liverpool will debut an ambitious exhibition titled “Cities in Flux: Art and the Urban Experience,” which will explore how artists have represented, critiqued, and reshaped urban landscapes. This exhibition is set to feature a wide array of media, from film and installation to street art, bringing together artists like El Anatsui, JR, and Rachel Whiteread, whose work engages with themes of gentrification, migration, and the lived experience of city life. Liverpool’s own industrial and maritime history will provide a poignant backdrop to this global conversation.
Tate St Ives: A Dialogue with Nature
Meanwhile, Tate St Ives will continue its tradition of marrying the natural beauty of Cornwall with the innovation of modern art. In 2024, the gallery will host "Elemental Forces: The Sea in Art," a sweeping exploration of how artists have drawn inspiration from the ocean. The exhibition will juxtapose works by artists like Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, who were intimately connected to the Cornish coast, with contemporary global artists such as Tacita Dean and Yinka Shonibare. The dialogue between past and present will illuminate how the sea remains a powerful symbol in art—of both sublime beauty and ecological fragility.
In 2025, Tate St Ives will venture further into exploring modernity’s impact on nature with "Landscapes of the Anthropocene," an exhibition that considers the shifting role of landscape painting and sculpture in the context of environmental degradation. Here, artists from Indigenous communities, particularly from the Pacific and the Arctic, will be given a prominent voice, adding to the global discourse on land, identity, and the climate crisis.
Beyond the Exhibitions: Education and Engagement
While the Tate's exhibitions for 2024 and 2025 offer an abundance of visual and intellectual stimulation, the gallery also continues to deepen its engagement with education and community. Its wide-ranging public programmes—workshops, talks, and digital resources—are tailored to engage diverse audiences, from art students and scholars to first-time gallery visitors. Tate’s commitment to expanding accessibility is seen in its digital outreach, offering virtual tours and online collections that make art accessible to those unable to visit in person.
Moreover, Tate’s ever-evolving commitment to inclusivity means that underrepresented artists, including women, artists of colour, and non-Western perspectives, will remain central to its curatorial vision. These efforts to broaden the art historical canon reflect the gallery’s aim to foster not only appreciation for art but also critical dialogue on global and societal issues.
Conclusion: The Future of Art at Tate
As the Tate moves into 2024 and 2025, it is clear that its role as a custodian of both British and international art is more relevant than ever. The exhibitions planned for the coming years are poised to challenge, inspire, and provoke meaningful dialogue about the future of art and its role in shaping society. By fostering a global perspective while staying rooted in British traditions, the Tate continues to push the boundaries of what a modern museum can achieve—acting as a dynamic space for reflection, education, and innovation in an ever-changing world.