Record numbers of visitors flocked to the Tate last year, driven in part by the popularity of artist Damien Hirst. The Tate's annual report reveals that almost eight million people visited the art museum's four galleries in 2012-13.
Tate chairman Lord Browne said that figure was 'more than any other art museum in the world, except for The Louvre'. The Hirst retrospective at Tate Modern in 2012 was the most popular solo exhibition in Tate history, attracting more than 463,000 visitors.
Tate Modern has also unveiled a new digital project entitled Bloomberg Connects, with 75 screens mounted on walls throughout the former power station which display visitors' ideas and comments. In addition, a 'digital drawing bar' allows people to draw on touch screens and see their creations projected instantly for other visitors to see.
Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota said: 'In the coming years we need to devote as much attention to the digital as we have given recently to the physical expansion and improvement of our buildings.'
The annual report, published on Thursday, showed that 7.74 million people visited the four galleries - Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives - in 2012-13, making it Tate's most successful year to date. More people visited Tate Modern than ever before - 5.5 million. It retained its position as the most visited gallery of modern and contemporary art in the world and was the second most popular tourist attraction in the UK, after the British Museum.
Tate bosses also called for a 'clear contractual arrangement' with government to help unlock sources of long-term funding, such as philanthropic giving. Lord Browne said government funding for the arts had 'failed to keep pace with inflation'.
