News story

The Secretary of State has reappointed Sir Nicholas Serota as Chair of Arts Council England.

Sir Nicholas Serota has been reappointed by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as Chair of Arts Council England for four years from 01 February 2021 to 31 January 2025.

Sir Nicholas Serota has been Chair of Arts Council England since 2017. During this period he has led the Durham Commission on Creativity and Education and has been closely involved with the Cultural Cities Enquiry as well as the development of the Arts Council England Strategy for 2020-30, ‘Let’s Create’.

He was Director of Tate from 1988 to 2017. During this period Tate opened Tate St Ives (1993) and Tate Modern (2000 and extension 2016), redefining the Millbank building as Tate Britain (2000). Tate also broadened its field of interest to include twentieth-century photography, film and performance, as well as collecting art from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The national role of the Gallery also became more significant with the creation of the Plus Tate network of 35 institutions across the UK and Northern Ireland.

Sir Nicholas was a member of the Olympic Delivery Authority which was responsible for building the Olympic Park in East London for 2012. He has been a member of the Board of the BBC since 2016.

This role is remunerated at £40,000 per annum. This reappointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, the process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Sir Nicholas has not declared any activity.

Published 15 January 2021