http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2489707/Tate-boss-in-conflict-of-interest-row.html

Tate boss in conflict of interest row
Sir Nicholas Serota, the artistic director of the Tate, is at the centre of a conflict of interest row after agreeing to advise a gallery owned by the girlfriend of Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch.
 
By Chris Hastings and Stephanie Plentl

Critics say Sir Nicholas's decision to work in an advisory capacity for Daria Zhukova's Center for Contemporary Culture in Moscow has not been approved by the Tate's board and may have breached its own guidelines on paid and unpaid appointments with outside bodies.

Critics also point out that Sir Nicholas will, in effect, be assisting a gallery which will be in competition with the Tate to acquire the same works and the same artists.

Sir Nicholas's decision to accept the appointment has led to speculation that he is trying to ingratiate himself with Abramovich in order to win financial backing for his controversial £215 million pound extention to the Tate Modern, known as TM3.

Sir Nicholas, who still needs to raise more than £100 for the extension, which he hopes to open in time for the 2012 Olympics, recently joked that he was learning Russian in a bid to win new backers.

David Lee, editor of The Jackdaw art magazine, said: "Does this new position reflect a conflcit of interest? Yes it bloody well does. There are no ifs and buts about it. Given the recent conflict of interest rows at the Tate, I am astonished he would do something look like this.

"Obviously the Tate needs many millions to finish the extension toTate Modern. But these figures are insignificant to someone like Abramovich."

Michael Dayley, director of Art Watch UK, said: "It just shows how seriously interlocked the public and private have become under Serota's regieme. There was a time when the gallery just wanted to collect art.

"Now Serota wants to project himself as a major player on the art scene. But that is not his job. He is supposed to be running a publicly-funded gallery.

"I think there is too much deference in government towards the art world, which means Serota does what he likes and no one says anything."

Charles Thomson, the head of the Stuckist movement of artists, said: "Sir Nicholas forgets that he is a public servant with responsibilities for a major public institution.

"I think this decision to advise the gallery in Moscow shows a very cavalier attitude. What he is advising them on? He is obviously not advising them on the plumbing. He is advising them on the art work.

"These institutions are inevitably going to be interested in the same works and the same artists. What is he going to do when either institution discusses a work the other might be interested in? Is he going to leave the room every single time?"

Mr Serota's appointment has been reported by specialist publications including the Art Newspaper, one of the world's most respected trade papers.

Last night the Tate insisted it was not a formal appointment but an informal approach to Sir Nicholas which did not require the Tate board's approval at this stage.

Erica Bolton, the UK arts publicist who is working for the CCC in Moscow, confirmed that Sir Nicholas was advising the institution.

Ms Bolton, who also works with the Tate, said other advisers included Julia Peyton Jones, the director of the Serpentine Gallery, and Ronald Lauder, the wealthy American art collector. She said Sir Nicholas's position was "largely honorary".

The new Moscow gallery is housed in a former bus garage designed in 1926 by the celebrated Russian architect Konstantin Melnikov and is the largest exhibition in the Russian capital.

It is being billed as a non-profit venture aimed at promotional and development of contemporary art and culture. In addition to the exhibition space it will include an education centre, a cafe and a members' lounge.

Zhukova, who is also known as Dasha, has recruited some of the biggest names in international art to help co-ordinate the project.

Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst, Damien Hirst's agent, has agreed to head the project and is believed to be the person who approached Sir Nicholas about the post of advisor.

The gallery's first exhibition, a major retrospective of the work of leading Russian artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, is due to open in September.

Roman Abromavich, who was first linked to Zhukova last year, is listed as a co-sponsor of the exhibition, but it is not clear to what extent he is backing the gallery.

In May the Chelsea FC owner, who is not known to be an art lover, spent £60 million on just two paintings at a sale in New York. He spent £17.2 million on Lucien Freud's Benefits Supervisor Sleeping and £43 million on Francis Bacon's Triptych.

Zhukova, a former model, is the daughter of the oil magnate Alexander Zhukova, who made his fortune in the early 1990s.

Even Sir Nicholas's supporters in the art world have linked the timing of the Moscow appointment to the ongoing fund-raising efforts for the planned extension to Tate Modern.

Cristina Ruisz, editor of The Art Newspaper, said: "His decision to work as an advisor for the gallery shows how farsighted he is.

"He has identified Zhukova as a potential supporter of the Tate in both monetary terms and in terms of potential loans. He is cosying him up to them, and that is his job after all."

A spokeswoman for the Tate said: "There has been no formal approach or correspondence inviting Nicholas Serota to be a member of an advisory panel for the new gallery in Moscow.

"Some months ago he was asked if he would give advice to the gallery, which he agreed to in principle. In the event of a formal invitation, Nicholas Serota would follow accepted Tate practice in seeking permission to take on such a commitment."

In a subsequent conversation, and after she had been contacted by the Tate, Erica Bolton said last night that there had been an informal approach to Sir Nicholas from the CCC.