Sally Tallant named director of Hayward Gallery and visual arts at Southbank Centre

Sally Tallant, currently director of the Queens Museum in New York and the former head of the Liverpool Biennial, has been announced as the new director of the Hayward Gallery and visual arts at London’s Southbank Centre. She will take over from Ralph Rugoff, who will step down after two decades in charge.

The Leeds-born Tallant has been in the US since 2019, following an eight-year stint leading the Liverpool Biennial and more than a decade at the Serpentine Gallery, where she was head of programmes until 2011. She said she was delighted to be returning to London and looked forward to building on the “outstanding legacy” of Rugoff and “shaping the next chapter of this vital cultural destination and civic institution”.

The move ends speculation over who would get the post at one of the sector’s most sought-after jobs. The Southbank Centre attracts about 3.7 million visitors annually and is marking its 75th anniversary this year; Tallant will take over in July when those celebrations are under way, including Danny Boyle’s You Are Here and a landmark Anish Kapoor exhibition, which leaders hope will galvanise the country as the 1951 celebration did.

Tallant joins an institution facing financial and infrastructure challenges: in 2024 the Southbank Centre’s CEO Elaine Bedell spoke of the need to find £50m to renovate dated infrastructure after Arts Council funding was cut by 41% in real terms over the past decade.

Key Topics

Culture, Sally Tallant, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Queens Museum, Liverpool Biennial