Ralph Rugoff, the director of London‘s Hayward Gallery for nearly 20 years, is to step down in 2026.
The gallery declined to give a reason for his departure but Rugoff, 68, will continue to work as an independent curator and writer. He said in a statement: “I have a great love for the Hayward Gallery—for the artists we’ve shown and the audiences who’ve engaged with our exhibitions; for so many superb colleagues and the different communities we’ve worked with; and also for the building itself, which was ingeniously designed as a democratic forum that concentrates aesthetic experience. That architecture is a spur for all of us to try to make exhibitions in adventurous and unexpected ways that might not be possible elsewhere.”
In his two decades at the Hayward Gallery, housed within the Southbank Centre on the River Thames, Rugoff curated 23 major exhibitions, as well as commissioning public artworks across the Southbank Centre by artists including Tracy Emin, Yinka Shonibare and Phyllida Barlow among others.
He added: “Over the past two decades it’s been deeply rewarding to exhibit, commission and publish some of the world’s most compelling artists; to have the support of truly inspiring art patrons, philanthropists and collectors; and to partner with great museums and art organisations around the world. I believe the Hayward’s programme has made a positive contribution to what has been an era of remarkable change in the contemporary art landscape. I very much look forward to watching its next chapter unfold.”
Under his directorship the reach of Hayward’s exhibitions grew, travelling to cities around the world including Beijing, Berlin, Sydney, Sharjah, New York and Stockholm. Rugoff also oversaw the work of Hayward Gallery Touring, which produces exhibitions—such as the British Art Show—hosted by museums and galleries around the UK.
During his tenure at the gallery he served as the artistic director of the 58th Venice Biennale, titled May You Live In Interesting Times, in 2019. The same year he was awarded an OBE for services to the arts.
Rugoff was born in New York in 1957 to the psychoanalyst Evangeline Peterson, and Donald Rugoff, a film distributor profiled in the 2019 film Searching for Mr. Rugoff. At Brown University the younger Rugoff majored in semiotics, after which he wrote for newspapers including the Los Angeles Times and the Financial Times, as well as Artforum and Parkett. Before being appointed at the Hayward Gallery in 2006 he was director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art in San Francisco.
Elaine Bedell, the Southbank Centre’s chief executive officer, said in a statement: “Ralph’s extraordinary passion and visionary leadership has seen the Hayward Gallery carve out an important space in the global contemporary art scene – showcasing diverse voices, platforming the greatest living international and British artists and making the space a welcoming and entertaining place for audiences across London and beyond.
Rugoff will leave the role in spring 2026. An international search for his successor will begin in autumn 2025.