Steve McQueen’s Tate Retrospective Is Finally Reopening

After opening to critical acclaim in February, Steve McQueen’s long-awaited retrospective exhibition at London’s Tate Modern museum was forced to close early when the gallery went into lockdown in March.

Now, after its galleries reopened last week, Tate has confirmed that the exhibition will reopen this Friday, offering visitors a chance to see the show which spans 20 years of the artist’s work. In addition, the exhibition’s run has been extended to 6 September 2020.

Featuring 14 works including photography, film, and sculpture, the exhibition offers an overview of 20 years of McQueen’s art: the most comprehensive survey ever of the Turner Prize-winning artist, whose work tackles issues of representation, identity and history. McQueen was also the director of the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave.

Speaking about the reopening, McQueen said, “I remember my first school trip to Tate when I was an impressionable 8-year-old, which was really the moment I gained an understanding that anything is possible. As we all gradually emerge from lockdown, and in some ways begin to see the world anew, I hope visitors experience that same sense of possibility.”

In line with current government guidelines, visitors to the exhibition will be required to wear face coverings, and visitor numbers will be restricted to accommodate social distancing regulations.

Steve McQueen at Tate Modern opens this Friday 7 August. More information on the exhibition and visitor guidelines can be found at the Tate website.

The ongoing lockdowns continue to disrupt exhibition programming worldwide: last week, a planned Yayoi Kusama exhibition was postponed, marking the fourth time a showing of the artists’ work has been cancelled this year.