Hyundai Motor and Tate Open the 11th Hyundai Commission, a Multisensory Work by Tarek Atoui
Hyundai Motor and Tate Modern have opened Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui: Hold, a multisensory sound installation filling Tate Modern's Turbine Hall until April 11, 2027.
- 11th annual
- 2036
- over 21.6 million
- October 13, 2026 – April 11, 2027
What Happened
Hyundai Motor Company and Tate Modern have announced the opening of Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui: Hold, a major new multisensory installation by artist and composer Tarek Atoui. The work combines sculpture, performance, music, technology and social research, creating environments where sound is experienced not only through the ears but through the whole body. Atoui has transformed Tate Modern's Turbine Hall into an immersive sonic landscape built from custom-built wind instruments, percussion, electronics and sculptural objects, woven together to make an orchestra that connects the earth and sky. Through participation and performance, this living environment will constantly evolve throughout the run of the commission.
Atoui's Hyundai Commission is the culmination of over two decades of experimentation, including collaborations with musicians, instrument-makers, engineers and researchers across Asia and Europe. Drawing on those projects, he reimagines shengs, Korean drums, Uzbek horns and custom-built electronic systems. In making the work, he responded to the extraordinary height, airflows and acoustic character of the Turbine Hall. Drawing on his memories of gathering places, from vine-covered canopies to sheltered courtyards, the commission situates the Turbine Hall as a site for encounter and exchange.
- A metal karnai, a ceremonial brass trumpet from Uzbekistan, hangs above the Turbine Hall ramp alongside two 3D-printed horns that echo and amplify the instrument's elongated form.
- At the far end of the hall, drum skins, gongs, horns, stones and 20m long textiles are suspended among a network of bamboo and shengs.
- A computer-controlled motor channels wind through the shengs, which are mouth organs from China and Southeast Asia.
- Lithophone-like stones and warm lights invite visitors to sit, lie, gaze up and attune themselves to the relationship between sound, materials, architecture and bodies.
- Microphones embedded in the installation sample the sounds of the instruments and the bustling backdrop of the Turbine Hall, with custom software reworking and playing them back as layers of the composition.
- Improvisation is central to Atoui's practice, so these elements contribute to an ever-changing soundscape.
Hyundai Motor and Tate establish their partnership, the longest initial commitment from a corporate partner in Tate's history.
The Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational is added to the partnership.
Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui: Hold opens at Tate Modern.
The six-month run of the commission at Tate Modern ends.
The Hyundai Motor and Tate partnership, now entering its next decade, extends through this year.
21.6million
Cumulative attendance for a programme that has produced works from Kara Walker's fountain to Anicka Yi's floating artificial lifeforms.
Throughout the six-month duration of the Hyundai Commission, the Turbine Hall will regularly become a site for live sound-based performances. A network of musicians will plug into Atoui's installation as a sound system. The programme will platform both local and international musicians, from instrumentalists to electronic artists, collectives and labels, highlighting the work of Atoui's longstanding collaborators and fostering new connections. The commission marks the 11th annual Hyundai Commission and inaugurates the next decade of the Hyundai Motor and Tate partnership, extending through 2036. By extending the partnership, Hyundai Motor and Tate reaffirm their shared, long-term commitment to artistic innovation and public access to contemporary art.
“Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui: Hold creates new forms of connection through sound, bringing together diverse cultures and communities. Through his multisensory and collaborative practice, Atoui invites meaningful exchange and collective reflection on our contemporary world.”
Why this matters
The opening extends Hyundai Motor's partnership with Tate — the longest initial commitment from a corporate partner in Tate's history — through 2036, keeping the annual Turbine Hall commission running for another decade. More than 21.6 million visitors have seen the commissions so far, and this edition gives musicians, instrument-makers and performers from Asia and Europe a six-month platform in London.
Terms in This Story
- Hyundai Commission
- An annual contemporary art commission staged in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall with corporate sponsorship.
- Turbine Hall
- The large industrial hall at the centre of London's Tate Modern, used for major large-scale art installations.
- sheng
- A mouth organ, a free-reed wind instrument traditionally played in China and Southeast Asia.
- karnai
- A ceremonial brass trumpet traditionally played in Uzbekistan.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.