Bio

Tate is a commercial art blog, and is the official blog from the arts organisation, Tate. The Tate is an institution that houses a collection of British Art, and also International Modern and Contemporary Art. The first Tate Gallery, Tate Britain was founded in 1897. Since then there have been three other galleries, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives and Tate Modern. The Tate Blog is based at the same office as the Press Office, in London and is aimed at a predominantly UK audience. However some of the posts will appeal to people outside of the UK if they are planning on visiting any of the galleries. It is worth noting that the Tate is a public institution owned by and existing for the public. Tate's mission is to increase public knowledge, understanding, awareness and enjoyment of British, modern and contemporary art. All the programmes that the Tate puts on display and how it is managed as an organisation is done to maximise value for the public. The content of the blog is provided by staff members who work for one of the four Tate institutions. Normally the contributors to the blog are part of the Press Office or Communications team at the organisation. Although the blog hosts a lot of guest bloggers and curators, usually of artists who have worked displayed at one of the four museums. The blog is updated fairly regularly and posts are varied between the four galleries. The blog's main service is to provide news, updates and raise awareness of upcoming displays or exhibitions. The guest blogs and curator posts provide a real insight into some of the shows that the Tate institution puts on. Another main source of material is in the shape of updates, where senior staff at the Tate provide an update into the future of the institution. Although the blog was slow to start, 2011 was its most active year with a total number of 220 posts. The most active topics that feature on the blog include Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate Debate and Research. Tate Debate, which is sponsored by Vodafone is a key source of material for the blog and manages to strike up discussions from artists, staff members at the Tate and readers of the blog. PR opportunities mainly include sponsorship and interviews, but others do exist, and it's recommended to contact the blog on the telephone number or email address provided above. Alternatively, the institution is very active and responsive on Twitter, where they have a dedicated team to respond to questions or requests.