Tate Modern's £260m extension renamed Blavatnik Building after record donation
The Tate Modern's newly unveiled £260 million expansion, formerly called The Switch House, will now be referred to as the Blavatnik Building, thanks to a donation surpassing £50 million from American entrepreneur Len Blavatnik. This contribution, made in 2011, marks the largest donation ever received by a museum in the UK and enabled Tate to attract further funding for the initiative. Blavatnik, who left the Soviet Union for the US in 1978, built his fortune in the Russian oil sector. His family's philanthropic organization, the Blavatnik Family Trust, has also backed various cultural entities, including the National Gallery and the British Museum. Nicholas Serota, Tate's director until late May, expressed his happiness regarding the building's new name. The Art Newspaper covered the announcement.
Key facts
- Tate Modern's £260 million extension is being renamed the Blavatnik Building
- The renaming follows a donation of over £50 million from Len Blavatnik
- Blavatnik's gift is the largest-ever financial donation to a UK museum
- The donation was originally pledged in 2011
- Blavatnik emigrated from the Soviet Union to the US in 1978
- He made his fortune in the Russian oil industry
- The Blavatnik Family Trust has donated to multiple cultural institutions worldwide
- Nicholas Serota, Tate's outgoing director, welcomed the naming
Entities
Institutions
- Tate
- Tate Modern
- The Art Newspaper
- National Gallery
- National Portrait Gallery
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- British Museum
- Royal Academy of Arts
- National Gallery of Art
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Blavatnik Family Trust
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Washington, DC
- United States
- New York
- Soviet Union