Maria Balshaw
Maria Jane Balshaw CBE (born 24 January 1970)[1] is director of the Tate art museums and galleries.
The appointment was confirmed by Theresa May, the UK Prime Minister at the time, on 16 January 2017, making Balshaw the first female director of the Tate.
[3] On 12 June 2015, Balshaw was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), in the Queen's birthday honours list, for Services to the Arts.
A role which taught Balshaw "a tremendous amount about how to inspire, persuade and cajole unlike partners into common goals".
Some of the most notable include: Balshaw started the process of reviving the Whitworth in 2007 with the launch of a new capital build project.
As The Guardian reported: "At the front, they have softened the forbidding entrance with a sculpture forecourt and an inviting sequence of steps, ramps and benches; but the real meat of the project is saved for the back, where MUMA have extended the symmetrical composition with a pair of wings that project out into Whitworth Park, framing a new sculpture garden.
This dual directorship brought the two institutions' collections of historic and modern art into alliance for the first time in their history.
In 2014, the government announced funding of £78m for The Factory,[48] a brand new artistic hub on the old Granada Studios site in the city’s Castlefield district.
[49] Balshaw has been director of Tate art museums and galleries since 2017,[50] succeeding Sir Nicholas Serota (1988 to 2017).
Her appointment was confirmed by the UK prime minister on 16 January 2017, making her the first female director of the Tate.
The charity was set up in 2014 with the aim of raising funds to transform the category A listed Pavilion into a new cultural centre for Bute.
Her book choice was Vickery’s Folk Flora: an A-Z of the Folklore and Uses of British and Irish Plants by Roy Vickery, her luxury item was a full set of flower and vegetable seeds and her favourite track was "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward" by Billy Bragg.
