LONDON.- In May 2025, the world’s most popular museum of modern and contemporary art will turn 25. Everyone will be invited to a birthday celebration at Tate Modern from 9 to 12 May. The gallery will be activated through the day and into the evening with live music and performance, pop-up talks and tours, a drop-in making studio as part of UNIQLO Tate Play, and special food and drink offers, all taking inspiration from Tate Modern’s free collection.

Karin Hindsbo, Director of Tate Modern, said “Tate Modern has made an incredible impact in just 25 years. It has exploded the canon of art history, transformed the public’s relationship with contemporary art, and rewritten the rules for what an art museum can be. Our birthday weekend will be a wonderful chance to see what we do best and get a taste of where we’re going next – and all for free!”

To coincide with the anniversary, a host of recent additions to Tate’s collection will go on display around the building, and some of the most iconic works from Tate Modern’s history will return. Louise Bourgeois’s giant bronze spider Maman will come home to the gallery. Standing 10 metres high, this monumental sculpture was the first work to greet visitors when Tate Modern opened in 2000 and will be returning to the Turbine Hall for the first time in 25 years.

Maman will be the starting point from which to explore a new trail of 25 key works installed around Tate Modern. These will include other much-loved classics returning to the gallery, like Mark Rothko’s Seagram murals, which will be coming back from their current display at Tate St Ives, and Dorothea Tanning’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, returning from a major Surrealism exhibition in Paris. The trail will also highlight contemporary works involving film, music and performance, including an immersive multi-screen film installation by Nalini Malani and a series of live tarot readings staged as part of an installation by Meschac Gaba.

Catherine Wood, Tate Modern’s Director of Programme, said “We wanted to celebrate our 25th anniversary with a capsule collection of 25 key works, which will lead visitors around the whole building on a journey from old favourites to new discoveries. The selection showcases how art – and Tate Modern itself – has always pushed the boundaries and challenged norms, ultimately letting us all see the world through new eyes.”

Two new free exhibitions will also open in time for the anniversary weekend, each showcasing the urgent issues and new ideas that artists are exploring today. A Year in Art: 2050 will explore how artists imagine possible futures, from Umberto Boccioni’s Futurist sculpture to a computer-generated animation by Ayoung Kim set in a futuristic version of Seoul. Gathering Ground will feature international contemporary art united by a deep connection to land and community, often addressing the relationship between the ecological crisis and social injustice. It will include recent additions to Tate’s collection by artists including Outi Pieski, Carolina Caycedo and Edgar Calel, as well as a specially-commissioned participatory installation by Abbas Zahedi.