Tate Britain appoints Kate Bush to the new post of Adjunct Curator of Photography

Tate was famously slow to institutionalise photography, staging its first photography show (Cruel + Tender: The real in the 20th century photography) in 2003, and appointing its first photography curator, Simon Baker, in 2009.
Now, hot on the heels of its acquisition of Martin Parr’s 12,000-strong photobook collection, its now made another major commitment to photography, appointing Kate Bush in the new post of Adjunct Curator of Photography. Bush, who was previously Head of Photography at the Science Museum Group, and prior to that Head of Art Galleries at the Barbican Centre in London, starts at Tate Britain in October.

Tate has released a statement, which adds that: “She will work with Ann Gallagher (Tate’s Director of Collections for British Art), Alex Farquharson (Director of Tate Britain) and Simon Baker (Tate’s Senior Curator of Photography and International Art) alongside Tate Britain’s wider curatorial team, researching and building the collection of British photography and curating exhibitions and displays at Tate Britain.”
Photography is currently enjoying big gains in London institutions, with the V&A announcing back in April that it will open a new Photography Centre in 2018, and news breaking in August that Swedish organisation Fotografiska will also open a large London space next year. The fashion house Burberry is currently hosting a large-scale exhibition of British documentary photography in its Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell, and Photo London returns in 2018 for its third edition.