‘Beyond excited’: Head of Norway’s National Museum named new Tate Modern director

‘Tate Modern has always been a special place for me’ … Karin Hindsbo. Photograph: Reuters

The head of Norway’s National Museum has been named as the new director of Tate Modern in London. Karin Hindsbo, who oversaw the consolidation of four Norwegian art institutions into the National Museum in Oslo, will take up her new post in September.

She will succeed Frances Morris, the first female director of Tate Modern who announced last year that she was stepping down. Morris joined Tate as a curator in 1987.

Hindsbo has been director of Oslo’s National Museum since 2017. The new institution, which opened last June, was created from the former National Gallery, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Architecture, as well as the country’s national touring exhibitions. It is now the largest museum in the Nordic countries.

Hindsbo said she was “beyond excited” to be joining Tate Modern, “a groundbreaking institution”.

She added: “Tate Modern has always been a special place for me and I have had some of my greatest experiences encountering art there. I am eager to continue the magnificent work being done, creating a unique and inspiring museum for a wide and diverse audience.”

‘A groundbreaking institution’ … Tate Modern. Photograph: Justin Kase zninez/Alamy

Maria Balshaw, director of Tate – which comprises the four Tate museums, Modern, Britain, Liverpool and St Ives – said: “The success of the new National Museum in Oslo – delivered in the midst of a global pandemic – is a testament to [Hindsbo’s] skill as a leader. Her nuanced and diverse approach to expressing national and transnational artistic ecologies chimes with Tate Modern’s ethos brilliantly.

“Working alongside the outstanding team at Tate Modern, I know Karin will bring vision, creativity and a spirit of artistic ambition that will enable us to continue reaching new heights in the years to come.”

Hindsbo has previously worked as director of several art institutions and museums in Norway and Denmark, including Kode in Bergen, Sørlandets Kunstmuseum in Kristiansand, Kunsthal Aarhus, and Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art in Copenhagen. She was previously editor-in-chief of the Danish cultural journal Øjeblikket.