There are new ways for visitors, and in particular families, to enjoy and understand modern and contemporary art at Tate Modern from 23 May, to coincide with the rehang. These include UBS Openings: Family Zone, a new area created on Level 3 of Tate Modern for families. The support of UBS has also enabled the development of dramatic new timelines, wall graphics, touch screens, and wall captions written by renowned figures from the worlds of music, literature, science, journalism and art.
UBS Openings: Family Zone
UBS Openings: Family Zone is a specifically designed interactive family area that hosts the new and improved Start, the successful free-of charge programme for families at Tate Modern.
Participants are able to choose from a new range of professionally designed and carefully conceived Collection-based games including board and card games, sticker games, toolboxes, jigsaws and sketching activities.
Start has been extended to run every Saturday and Sunday and every day during school holidays. A British Sign Language interpreter will also be available on the first Sunday of every month.
Timelines
Timelines spanning the length of the concourses on Level 3 and Level 5 set the new displays in the rehang in context. Designed by artist Sara Fanelli, these create a dynamic, playful environment for visitors as well as providing useful points of reference.
The timelines highlight the major figures and movements in twentieth-century art. The chronology begins just before 1900 and continues through to the beginning of the twenty-first century. On Level 5, the timeline is animated by six monitors showing archival film footage of historical events, presenting a ‘newsreel’ to convey the overall atmosphere of the era.
‘Viewpoints’
An essential supplement to the timeline and the Collections rehang is the opportunity for visitors to record their responses on cards which will then be displayed on Level 3.
‘Bigger Picture’ Captions
Within the galleries, there are new wall captions about works on display written by renowned figures such as authors John Banville, AS Byatt, and designer Wayne Hemmingway. The captions, featuring opinionated, provoking and insightful comments, bring ‘other voices’ into the dialogue with gallery visitors.
Graphic designs and touch screen computers
Sara Fanelli has created graphic designs for the entrance walls to the four new wings of the rehang. These feature the key movements, themes and artists which relate to each of the displays; Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism; Surrealism and Surrealist tendencies; Abstract Expressionism and European Informal Art; and Minimalism.
At key points along the same concourses on Levels 3 and 5 touch screen computers allow visitors to access Tate’s Collection database with its additional wealth of information.
UBS are committed to supporting local communities through education and regeneration and Nick Wright, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs at UBS stated of their work with Tate Modern:
“Drawing on the expertise of our employees and building on our ethos of long-term, meaningful relationships, we aim to make a positive impact on the economic, social and environmental well-being of our local communities. Working with Tate Modern to open up art to different audiences through new initiatives such as UBS Openings: Family Zone is part of this wider commitment to investing in our communities.
Through our existing partnerships with local community organisations and schools, we hope to ensure our alliance with Tate will reach out to as broad an audience as possible. Through our volunteer programme our employees will help teachers to deliver an art awareness and education programme in schools. We look forward to working closely with Tate over the next three years to enhance access to art, understanding of art, and also creativity in the classroom”.