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The biggest challenges facing London’s new museum directors. As Tristram Hunt starts his new job at the V&A and Maria Balshaw joins the Tate in June, we look at some of the hurdles they will need to overcome.

The incoming directors of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and the Tate join institutions in good shape, but still face significant challenges. Tristram Hunt, who assumed his role at the V&A yesterday (20 February), is a social historian and, until last month, a Labour Member of Parliament. He has never worked in a museum—let alone run one. Maria Balshaw, who takes over the Tate in June, has much more institutional experience. She became the director of Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery just over a decade ago; before that, she was an academic and an Arts Council administrator. The pair are likely to bring fresh ideas, but will need to rely on specialist advice from curators. Here are the main hurdles facing the new leaders of two of the UK’s top museums (plus some good news about what they can anticipate). 

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