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Tate Modern sets June opening for $400 million expansion

FILE - This Tuesday, July 17, 2007 file photo shows a view of the Tate Modern gallery and the Millennium Bridge in London. Britain's most popular art gallery, Tate Modern, says on Tuesday Sept. 22, 2015 it will open a new 10-storey extension on June 17 after a revamp that cost 260 million pounds ($400 million). The gallery in a disused power station beside the River Thames in London opened in 2000 and draws more than 5 million visitors a year. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file) FILE - This Tuesday, July 17, 2007 file photo shows a view of the Tate Modern gallery and the Millennium Bridge in London. Britain's most popular art gallery, Tate Modern, says on Tuesday Sept. 22, 2015 it will open a new 10-storey extension on June 17 after a revamp that cost 260 million pounds ($400 million). The gallery in a disused power station beside the River Thames in London opened in 2000 and draws more than 5 million visitors a year. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

By Associated Press September 22, 2015 1 min read

LONDON (AP) – Britain’s most popular art gallery, Tate Modern, says it will open a new 10-story extension on June 17 after a revamp that cost 260 million pounds ($400 million).

The gallery in a disused power station beside the Thames in London opened in 2000 and draws more than 5 million visitors a year.

The new building by architects Herzog & de Meuron – linked to the existing structure by the vast Turbine Hall – will add 60 percent more display space for the gallery’s collection of modern and contemporary art.

The renovation is also transforming the power plant’s former oil tanks into performance spaces.

Tate director Nicholas Serota said Tuesday that the gallery faces funding cuts from Britain’s budget-slashing government, but will fight to keep its policy of free admission.