LONDON -- Britain's most popular art gallery, Tate Modern, says it will open a new 10-story extension on June 17 after a revamp that cost $400 million.
The gallery in a disused power station beside the Thames in London opened in 2000 and draws more than 5 million visitors a year.
The new building by architects Herzog & de Meuron -- linked to the existing structure by the vast Turbine Hall -- will add 60 per cent more display space for the gallery's collection of modern and contemporary art.
The renovation is also transforming the power plant's former oil tanks into performance spaces.
Tate director Nicholas Serota said Tuesday that the gallery faces funding cuts from Britain's budget-slashing government, but will fight to keep its policy of free admission.
