What's So Special About the Turbine Hall?

The Turbine Hall is unique on many levels. It's size, though perhaps not so impressive compared to spaces in the US, is unparalleled in the UK. The incredibly high ceiling gives you a feeling similar to that which cathedrals and large churches do, that of awe and worship, but without the constraints of silence.
It's a place in which you don't have to switch off your phone, or speak in hushed whispers or only of intelligent observations. You can feel at home enough to scream and shout. Children can play, as can adults, they can touch the art and be a part of the art.
All the pieces are intended to create some sort of physical and emotional effect on the viewers through their interaction. They are not things you have to stand back from or walk around without touching. Perhaps it is this that makes it so successful. One can imagine what would happen if walls were just lined with canvases from one or many artists? It would be completely unimpressive.
Another reason for the popularity and success of the turbine hall is that most of the projects so far have been fun. The turbine hall seems to have become some sort of artistic and mature playground. It's taken art in a completely different direction from the stereotypical sombre, morbid, depressing etc etc art so rife in the scene these days.

Who's Next?

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster will be the ninth Unilever Series artist for the turbine hall. She was "Chosen for her remarkable ability to create unique and immersive environments, we look forward to seeing how Gonzalez-Foerster's commission will transform our experience of the Turbine Hall," said Tate Modern director, Vicente Todoli.

She has been known to "summarise or exaggerate the nature of a space".
"Sometimes she presents large empty spaces with not very much in them".

Who? What? When?

1st. Louis Bourgeouis (12 May - 26 November 2000)



2nd. Juan Muñoz (12 June, 2001 - 10 March, 2002)



3rd. Anish Kapoor (9 October, 2002 - 6 April, 2003)



4th. Olafur Eliasson (16 October, 2003 - 21 March, 2004)



5th. Bruce Nauman (12 October, 2004 - 28 March, 2005)


(Sound Piece)

6th. Rachel Whiteread (11 October, 2005 - 1 May, 2006)



7th. Carsten Höller (10 October, 2006 - 9 April, 2007)



8th. Doris Salcedo (9 October, 2007 - 13 April, 2008)

What is it about? What is their aim?

This is what they have written:

The Unilever Series began in 2000 as part of a five-year, £1.25 million sponsorship by Unilever of an annual art commission for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall.

Broaden your perspective

In 2005, we renewed the sponsorship for a further three years, investing a further £1 million. Unlike most sponsorships, which fund exhibitions of existing works, The Unilever Series enables a leading artist to create a new work for the vast Turbine Hall every year. The public can enjoy the exhibition for free – and around thirteen million people have done that so far.

Vitality - quality of life

The Unilever Series fits with our mission to add vitality to life. We believe that vitality is about more than just looking and feeling good. It's about quality of life in its broadest sense – seeking out new experiences and stretching our minds. The Unilever Series epitomises that.

Alongside The Unilever Series, Unilever and Tate also run the Unilever International Schools Art Project, designed to promote the teaching and expression of creativity through art in children around the world.

Unilever Series

So what exactly is the 'Unilever' series? Like with many other galleries, it is just a series of exhibits by artists chosen by the Tate. In this case however, and unlike many other galleries who chose existing works by artists, the Unilever Series offers to the artist the vast space of the Turbine Hall in which to create a work of art, or in other words, the artist is commissioned to create something for that specific space.
'Unilever' is a company which produces various commercial hygiene products, such as Vaseline, Timotei Shampoo, Sure (deodorant products) etc. Due to their longstanding patronage and relationship to the Tate, they basically fund and enable the exhibitions in the Turbine Hall.
Here is what they say about their relationship with the arts:

Our commitment to the arts

Alongside our high-profile commitments to national organisations such as Tate Modern, The Royal Academy of Arts and The National Theatre, most of our arts expenditure goes to support the development of young talent, in line with our overall community programme.

Our 20-year programme of collecting contemporary art for our headquarters at Unilever House in Central London supports young and up-and-coming artists. A collection of modern art has also been established at our Home and Personal Care head office in Kingston. This is linked to a programme of employee development through creative workshops and community involvement, where members of staff volunteer to 'mentor' local arts organisations.

Unilever's commitment of £2.25m over eight years with Tate Modern has been extended to 2012. Our relationship with Tate Modern has enabled them to commission a new installation for the Turbine Hall each year. The eighth and most recent commission is by Doris Salcedo and opened on 9 October 2007.

As one of the Tate's neighbours on the Thames, Unilever was keen to support this enhancement to London's urban environment. The gallery has made a vital contribution to economic and social renewal in Southwark, bringing annual economic benefits worth £50-£90m, and creating up to 2,400 jobs. Each sponsored commission has a community and educational programme associated with it.

Tate Extension

The Tate Modern shall be undergoing some changes in the near future. It shall receive an extension on the café entrance side. This is what the Tate website says about it:

"Posted in November 21st, 2007

Award-winning architects Herzog and de Meuron are designing a new building that will be created on the south side of the existing Tate Modern gallery. Planning permission has now been granted, and the project is aiming for completion in 2012. The total costs of the development are comparable to the costs of the original Tate Modern: £165 million at today’s prices, £215 million at outturn in 2012.

The success of Tate Modern makes the new development necessary as we have around 5 million visitors a year and the present building was designed for half that number. As well as providing more space for modern and contemporary art, which will enable Tate to explore new areas of visual culture; the new building will give Tate room to develop much better visitor facilities. This is where the Great Tate Mod Blog comes in as we invite people around the world to send us photographs of their favourite spaces and designs."

Turbine Hall