Venue Spotlight | Tate

Abby Sammons

Marketing & Partnerships Manager

10 September 2024

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Wise are joined by Jade Jeffrey, Head of Sales at Tate in the first of our 'Venue Spotlight' series to discuss two iconic Tate spaces, The Tanks and The Duveens.
“Together with our valued partners like Wise, the Tate team guide you with our knowledge on how best to deliver your event and bring your vision to life.”
What has been the most memorable event you’ve done with Wise Productions in Tate spaces?

We are really fortunate to have a large catalogue of memorable Wise events to choose from! From small and intimate dinners on concourses outside our inspiring exhibitions, to huge and vast productions in the Tanks that have multiple day builds to bring the project to life. This past season though, we hosted a gorgeous event across the Duveens at Tate Britain for the Premier League. The event was a reception and panel talk to celebrate football within communities at grass root level. Wise were fantastic at designing a great guest journey through the Duveens, creating and staging engaging content for guests to view. They installed lightboxes which had gorgeous images and quotes from the community football teams, which really inspired the audience and gave them context of the event.

What type of event would you love to see in The Tanks?

The Tanks are easily my favourite space across the Tate Galleries! I genuinely don’t think there is any other space quite like it in London. Clients are always so inspired by the rawness of the space and the concrete feel. I have seen them transformed into beautiful catwalks with forest installations, to product launches that included an in-built water feature.

The next thing I really want to see in the space though is gaming! I’m envisioning an EA Sports event with the game projected across the walls, and an amazing screen rigged from the ceiling. The Tanks are incredibly versatile, with capacity for impressive rigging that moulds the space to fit any event.

What’s the most challenging thing about delivering in a space like The Tanks? 

The Tanks are a fantastic space in both their look and feel and their capability for a large capacity in Central London, but the best thing about them is the ease of delivering events. When the Tanks were re-developed as a performance space in 2016, they were built for events in mind, with plenty of power and rigging points and massive doors to get kit and stage sets in. The most challenging thing about an event in the Tanks is not being overwhelmed by the size and ensuring you utilise the space to your event’s advantage. Together with our valued partners like Wise, the Tate team guide you with our knowledge on how best to deliver your event and bring your vision to life.

“The Tanks are a fantastic space in both their look and feel and their capability for a large capacity in Central London, but the best thing about them is the ease of delivering events.”
What’s the sound quality like in the Duveens? 

The Duveens are beautiful 300ft stone galleries with a vast ceiling, built to showcase art sculptures. The space is cavernous and much like a cathedral in its feel, so sound can be sometimes be challenging. Luckily, we have production partners like Wise, who have a high level of knowledge of the building and understand how the space works and how best to equip them to ensure that sound quality is excellent.

Is there an opportunity to see the art as part of hiring these spaces? 

Tate is home to British and Contemporary art and our mission is making art accessible to all, so we absolutely encourage our clients to host their event around the art if it’s suitable. Clients can hire an art gallery for guests to enjoy a private viewing or even arrange a tour as part of their event journey.

Tell us a fun fact about these spaces? 

The Tanks used to be full of oil when the Tate was a power station back in the 1960s.
The Duveens were the first public art galleries which opened in 1897.

“Tate is home to British and Contemporary art and our mission is making art accessible to all, so we absolutely encourage our clients to host their event around the art if it’s suitable.”
What are the capacities and timings for events in Tate spaces?

The Tanks capacity is up to 1,000 standing, 500 theatre style and 400 for a dinner and they are available for day and evening for events with the ability to extend until 3am.

The Duveens capacity when there is no art is up to 900 standing and 500 for a dinner and they are available for evening events with the option for daytime build. You can also extend events until 1am!

 

To enquire about your next event in a Tate space, contact [email protected] or visit privateevents.tate.org.uk.

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