Patricia Lankester, a Trustee of Tate since 2005, has been appointed Chair of the Tate Liverpool Council. Patricia joined the Tate Liverpool Council as a member in 2006, and will now take up the role of Chair, succeeding previous Chair Professor Jennifer Latto.
Tate Liverpool Council has 12 members drawn from a broad range of interest groups and is a non executive sub-committee of the Board of Trustees. It plays a vital role in the formulation and development of policy and programme for Tate Liverpool and makes recommendations to the board of Trustees on Tate Liverpool-specific policy issues, the overall shape of Tate Liverpool’s programme and the future development of the gallery.
Patricia Lankester said 'I’m delighted to take up this important role as such an exciting time for Tate Liverpool and look forward to supporting the Directors and wider gallery team to deliver a vibrant programme for 2008 and beyond.'
Andrea Nixon, Executive Director, Tate Liverpool said 'We look forward to working with Patricia and drawing on her wealth of experience in the next three years.'
Paul Myners, Chair of the Trustees of Tate, added 'Patricia will ensure that Tate Liverpool’s ambitions are properly represented to Tate. She will bring considerable energy and intellect to this task, building on the excellent work done by Jennifer.'
Patricia Lankester was born in Todmorden where her family still live. She is a free-lance adviser to a number of grant-making institutions and charities. From 1998–2004 she was Director of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, a major grant-making trust with a focus on combating disadvantage in young people through arts and education projects. She was Head of Education at the National Trust for eight years and, prior to that, taught in Islington comprehensive schools. From 1998 to 2003 she was a trustee of the Heritage Lottery Fund. She is currently a trustee of the Eureka! Children’s Museum in Halifax, Villiers Park Educational Trust, the Hanover Foundation and the Foundling Museum. She became a Tate Trustee in April 2005.
The current members of the Tate Liverpool Council are Elkan Abrahmson, Chair of Tate Liverpool Members; Cllr Paul Brant, Liverpool City Council; Nick Crowe, artist; Jim Davies, CEO DWF; Jeremy Deller, artist and Tate Trustee; Peter Fell, Director Regional and Economic Affairs, The University of Manchester; Peter Mearns, Director of Marketing and Communications, NWDA; Alastair Sunderland, Austin Smith Lord and David Wade-Smith, Chairman, Global Smart Media.