Sally Tallant to Lead London’s Hayward Gallery

Sally Tallant to Lead London’s Hayward Gallery

TheSouthbank Centrehas named Leeds-born curatorSally Tallantas the next director of London’sHayward Gallery. She will assume her new position in July, as theSouthbank Centrecelebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary. Tallant succeedsRalph Rugoff, whoannounced his departure this past Septemberafter two decades in the role. She arrives to the Hayward from New York’s Queens Museum, where she has been director since 2019. Her acceptance of the role marks her return to the Hayward, where she served as an assistant curator early in her career. Tallant in a statement described herself as “delighted” to be back at the London institution.

While at the Queens Museum, Tallant oversaw more than thirty major exhibitions of artists including Fia Backstrom, Suzanne Lacy, Tracey Rose, Christine Sun Kim, Aki Sasamoto, Lyle Ashton Harris, and Mierle Laderman Ukeles. She commissioned six permanent public artworks—by Rashid Johnson, Fred Wilson, Ronny Quevedo, Aliza Nisenbaum, Mariam Ghani, and Virginia Overton—at the city’s LaGuardia Airport. Tallant was previously artistic director and CEO of the Liverpool Biennial, from 2011 to 2019, and was head of programs at London’s Serpentine Galleries from 2001 to 2011.

“I am thrilled to have Sally Tallant join us,” said Mark Ball, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, in a statement. “She is a visionary leader and curator whose work—from the Queens Museum to the Liverpool Biennial—perfectly mirrors our own ambitions to be innovative and interdisciplinary. Sally understands how to create world-class encounters that bridge the gap between art and community. As she joins us in this landmark year, I look forward to seeing her bring the Hayward Gallery into the future with a spirit of openness, energy, and radical accessibility.”