The Herzog & de Meuron-designed Tate Modern opened to the public on Friday, June 17, and it has been generating buzz on social media in the days leading up to its debut. The new wing, a 212-foot-tall pyramidal tower dubbed the Switch House, has been under construction for six years.
“As we have been building the new Tate Modern, the curators… have been building the collection,” Tate Modern director Frances Morris told reporters at a press preview earlier this week. “You will find more international art, more art by women and great new installations.”
In its new iteration, the Tate Modern, which first opened in 2000, is looking to expand its collection and represent a greater range of artists and cultures—but for now, the first visitors to the space are understandably overcome by the spectacle of a new temple to contemporary art, and all the art selfie opportunities that come with it.
The opening festivities this weekend include live performances from Tania Bruguera, Tino Sehgal, and Peter Liversidge. Amid the galleries, well known names on view include Lynda Benglis, Carl Andre (which included a protest), and Louise Bourgeois, plus the museum’s newest acquisition, Ai Weiwei’s Tree 2010.
However, the Guardian reports that Bob and Roberta Smith has already become the first artist to donate work to the expanded institution, a group of placards reading All Schools Should be Art Schools, that the artist duo handed to some of the 3,000 school children as they entered the museum for a special preview day.
Here’s a few Instagram photos showing what the world has to look forward to at the new Tate Modern in the years to come. Enjoy!