Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) announces that Frances Morris CBE has been appointed as Chair of the organisation’s Board. A museum curator, art historian and writer, Frances Morris played a key role in establishing Tate, and in particular Tate Modern, as one of the most important galleries in the world. After studying at Cambridge and the Courtauld Institute, she joined Tate as a young curator in 1987, and when Tate Modern opened, took on the responsibility of introducing an entirely new way of seeing the national collection of modern and contemporary art, first as Head of Displays (2000-2006), and then Director of Collections, International Art, until she took over as Director of Tate Modern from 2016 to 2023.
Frances’s legacy at Tate includes the geographical expansion of Tate’s collection beyond the western canon, gender equality in Tate Modern’s artistic programmes, extending the repertoire of contemporary art by making space for performance and live art in the gallery’s collections, and helping to shape internal and international green museum principles. In 2019, Frances spearheaded Tate’s public commitment to addressing climate extinction via the declaration of a Climate Emergency. This initiative offered a platform for discussion in partnership with artists, campaigners, artistic communities and cultural organisations, a commitment to reducing the organisation’s carbon footprint by 50% by 2023, alongside other measures including the adoption of a train-first travel policy, the switch to a green electricity tariff, the commitment to regular carbon auditing and the sustainable sourcing of produce for Tate’s restaurants.
As a leading voice in the discussion around culture and sustainability, Frances Morris will contribute her broad experience, expertise and international network towards GCC’s mission of mainstreaming Environmental Responsibility in the art world and reducing the sector’s CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline.
Frances Morris:
“I am thrilled to be joining Gallery Climate Coalition as Chair at such a critical moment for both the organisation and the wider visual arts sector. The urgency of the climate crisis demands bold, collective action, and GCC has already made remarkable strides in galvanising the art world towards meaningful change. I have long admired the coalition’s commitment to practical, systemic solutions, and I look forward to working alongside the team and its members to accelerate this progress. Together, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to ensure that the arts lead by example in building a more sustainable future.”
Celebrating its 5th anniversary this year, Gallery Climate Coalition is an international coalition of over 1800 arts organisations and professionals working to urgently decarbonise the visual arts. GCC develops and shares best practice, provides leadership on sector specific environmental issues, and works to leverage the collective power of its membership to achieve systemic changes.
photo courtesy Tate © Samia Meah
