The Eyal Ofer Family Foundation has donated £10 million to the Tate Modern to support the completion of the new development at the museum. Tate Modern said that the donation would contribute to the expansion of one of London’s most visited cultural attractions and will reinforce London’s leading position as a global center of contemporary art. In recognition of the gift, the museum has renamed some of its exhibition galleries the Eyal Ofer Galleries.
"Forbes" ranks Eyal Ofer as the second richest Israeli, with a fortune of $6 billion, surpassed only by his brother, Idan Ofer.
Eyal Ofer is the owner of Zodiac Maritime Agencies Ltd., as well as extensive real estate properties. His father, the late shipping magnate Sammy Ofer contributed to the Sammy Ofer Wing of the National Maritime Museum, which opened in 2011, and the restoration of the Cutty Sark, which opened in 2012, in Greenwich.
Eyal Ofer said, “Tate Modern is one of the world’s great public art institutions. So it is my privilege to be supporting this development project as it expands the gallery’s exhibition space and enables an iconic institution to enhance the experience and accessibility of contemporary art for an even broader range of visitors from across the UK and abroad, said Eyal Ofer.
The Tate Modern’s expansion project will be completed in 2016. It will increase the museum's size by 60%, adding 21,000 square meters of new space. The Ofer Family Foundation’s gift brings the total raised so far to 85% of the £215 million capital costs.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 3, 2013
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