Sally Tallant, the Leeds-born artistic director currently leading the Queens Museum in New York, has been announced as the next director of the Hayward Gallery and visual arts at London’s Southbank Centre. She will return to the UK to succeed Ralph Rugoff, who is stepping down after two decades at the helm. The appointment coincides with the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations this year.
Tallant previously served as director of the Liverpool Biennial for eight years and spent over a decade at the Serpentine Gallery, where she was head of programmes until 2011. She said she was delighted to return to London and excited to build on Rugoff’s “outstanding legacy”, looking forward to “shaping the next chapter of this vital cultural destination and civic institution”. The move ends speculation over one of the most sought-after arts jobs in the country, with the Southbank Centre attracting around 3.7 million visitors annually.
Accessibility has been a hallmark of Tallant’s career. In a 2021 interview, she stated her ambition to ensure art and arts institutions are “relevant and accessible to everyone, especially those who have been historically and systemically excluded because of class, race, gender, disability and sexuality”. She will take up the role in July, during the 75th birthday festivities, which include Danny Boyle’s ‘You Are Here’ event and a major Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Hayward.
Tallant joins an institution facing significant challenges. In 2024, Southbank Centre CEO Elaine Bedell highlighted the need to find £50 million to renovate dated infrastructure after Arts Council funding was cut by 41% in real terms over the past decade. Bedell said Tallant was joining at a pivotal moment to take the “helm of a gallery that has defined global contemporary art for 60 years”. Misan Harriman, chair of the Southbank Centre, described the appointment as “an inspiring new chapter” and stressed the importance of reflecting “the courage and creativity of the world we live in today”.
During her tenure in New York, Tallant commissioned artists such as Rashid Johnson. At the Liverpool Biennial, she worked with Ugo Rondinone, Peter Blake, Lara Favaretto, Betty Woodman, Tobias Rehberger and Carlos Cruz-Diez. She will collaborate closely with Mark Ball, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, who said he looked forward to seeing her guide the Hayward Gallery “into the future with a spirit of openness, energy and radical accessibility”.
