Helen Legg Named Artistic Director of Royal Academy of Arts
20March 20, 2026
Helen Legg, currently the director of Tate Liverpool, has been named the new artistic director of theRoyal Academy of Artsin London, a role she will assume in June 2026. In her new position, Legg will be responsible for the Academy’s exhibitions, collections and public programming. The Royal Academy stands out among art institutions—founded in 1768 by a group of architects and artists to be independent and entirely artist-run, the RA hosts an annual summer exhibition and runs a contemporary arts school.
Legg, a graduate ofUniversity of St. Andrews, Scotland, has participated in selection committees for both British and Scottish representation at the Venice Biennale. She’s also been a judge for the Turner Prize, the Contemporary Art Society’s Museums Award and the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, in addition to the Jerwood Drawing Prize and the Paul Hamlyn Artist’s Awards.
As a curator Legg has worked extensively with many different artists, including Hedwig Houben, Haroun Mirza, Cally Spooner and Gillian Wearing. Prior to her stint at Tate Liverpool, Legg was the director of Spike Island in Bristol from 2010 to 2018 and the curator at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery from 2005 to 2010.
“The RA is led by leading artists and architects, with the UK’s oldest – and crucially free – art school at its heart,” Legg said in a statement. “The opportunity to shape the RA’s artistic programme and respond to its extraordinary gallery spaces, as well as launching the expanded Collection Gallery, is tremendously exciting.”