Tate Modern, Culture & Lifestyle

This is my last post about my Tate Modern brand experience journey. I submitted my paper yesterday and although my little research project is therefore finished, I just had to go to Tate Modern again this eve. Exactly, this eve. Tate Modern is open until 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays, that's amazing! And that's actually also a good time to go, because it has much less people.

I promised you a post about Tate Modern's target group. This is very easy: it's the public.
Tate, the mother of Tate Modern has an official mission from the British Government to increase public knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of British, modern and contemporary art and everything they do is done to maximise value for the public.
However, who is exactly this "public"? As I wrote before Tate Modern is always full of tourists, so it can't be only the British tax payer. Tate Modern is free, at least the Collection. So everybody can just walk in, have a look around and leave again. This is pretty unique for a museum of this high calibre, but it's actually necessary, if you offer a place for the public. Not all who want to go to museums are able to go to museums in other countries, where entrance prices are sometimes already a social class divider and a sign for their elitist character. So Tate Modern is just for everybody.


The maintenance of Tate Modern must be quite expensive. Already the insurance charges for the temporary exhibitions must cost a fortune. The Government and also private funders have to provide this sum, so that we, the public can still enjoy Tate Modern, even for free. The fact that this is possible shows the significance of art and museums in our western culture. We grow up with art, it's part of our education. I guess all the school classes here in London visit Tate Modern once in a while or maybe other major museums. I think this is absolutely great and a huge advantage, the paintings have so much to say and we can learn a lot from them (and from the artists of course).


What I love so much about Tate Modern is that they fulfill this mission to increase public knowledge and understanding of art very well and especially also the third point, enjoyment. Tate Modern is not only a very successful brand, but also a very fancy one. Art becomes pleasure in Tate Modern. 
Some people might criticise this a little bit commercialisation of high value culture, but I think that's exactly how it should be. The art in Tate Modern is not only for the elite, it's for the public. The way Tate Modern presents and exhibits the art it's also an enjoyment and in that way they definitely reach their objective: to maximise value for the public.