The Tate Gallery has sites in Britain, London, Liverpool and St Ives. So, when deciding the location for a new venue there was naturally only one place to go…Space.
In order to fulfil their mission to extend access to British and International modern and contemporary art, the Tate Trustees have been considering for some time how they could find new dimensions to Tate’s work. They have therefore determined that the next Tate site should be in space.
Tate in Space obviously has alot of planning to do, but they already have a satellite orbiting Earth every 92.56 minutes. So far all the satellite does is be visible when passing by your local country. It’s hard to see the detail on the landscape paintings, but gee, the next time you hear of a meteor plummeting to Earth, it just may be a valuable statue — so hold out your hands.
SPOILER WARNING: Stop reading now if you want to go to Tate in Space.
The site is part fact, part fiction. It is intended as an agent provocateur: a catalyst, structure and location that invites debate and reflection on the nature of art in space, cultural ambition, and an examination of the role of the institution and the individuals within. Tate in Space also works as interactive or immersive
fiction, where each visitor is encouraged to engage with their own extra-terrestrial cultural fantasies. Some aspects of the work – such as the satellite sightings data – rely on participants ‘wishing’ or ‘believing’ the narrative into existence, assuming a position of co-authorship; collaborating with both the artist and each other in a work of constantly expanding collective fiction.
Quote from interview between Jemima Rellie and Susan Collins ‘Tate in Space’, Rhizome Digest 5.21.04.