“It is insensitive that Tate management would even think to do this
and we would encourage them to concentrate on listening to our concerns as we campaign for fair pay, more staff and an end to outsourcing at Tate.”
Tate, which operates the Tate Modern and Tate Britain in London, and Tate St Ives and Tate Liverpool, said in a statement
that the idea for the gift “came from the staff themselves who wanted to mark his 28 years of service to Tate.”
“Contributions towards the purchase of a small dinghy, which the staff thought would be an original gift, are entirely voluntary.”
A spokesman for the Tate group declined to elaborate on which staff members had proposed the idea and did not disclose how much money had been raised.
At Tate Galleries in London, Parting Gift Makes Waves: A Boat -
By AMIE TSANGAPRIL 28, 2017
LONDON — The practice of office workers pitching in to buy a gift for a departing
colleague — especially one with decades of service — is an old tradition.
But when staff members at the Tate Modern and Tate Britain art galleries in London were asked this week to contribute
to buy a gift for the Tate group’s departing director, many raised eyebrows over the present: a sailboat.
