Vicente Todolí director of theTate Modern in Londres

VICENTE TODOLÍ. (Palmera, Valencia 1958) Has been director of the Tate Modern in London since April 2003. His hard work in running the modern art gallery has make him a driving force in the capital´s cultural scene, having transformed an old electricity power station into a must see destination for lovers of art from around the world. His journey began in 1980, when he went to New York with the Whitney programme. Afterwards came Italy, Spain again and Portugal. From 1986 to 1988 he made his debut as director of the Instituto Artístico de Arte Moderno (IVAN) in Valencia, and in 1993 went on to run the Serralves Foundation's modern art museum in Oporto. Vicente Todolí puts as much passion into researching the world of new artist as he does into preparing exquisite dinners for his friends from Valencia and London. With his passion for art, history and stories he welcomed us into his office as he sat on his desk reading a magazine.

Azucena Monge/ Babylon Magazine: How do you feel about the Tate Modern being one of the most visited art galleries in the world?

Vicente Todolí: It has its advantages and disadvantages. Being popular is not a measure for succes. What is important is that we are respected and admired by our colleagues and the artistic community. If one were to simply focus on boosting numbers, that would be the first symptom of failure: the risk of dying from success.

BM: How do you measure the succes of an exhibition?

VT: There is not a magic formula. When you draw up the programme you cannot to it like a television company. We don´t measure the success of an exhibition by numbers of visitors. You have to wait for years to know what the effect is.

BM: What characteristics does a work need to be exhibited at the Tate Modern?

VT: We look at the history of art from the 20th and 21st centuries from a contemporary point of view. We are not just a gallery of modern art. We also have a modern point of view. Each time we stage an exhibition: we look to do something new, through the vision of an artist or a movement. Repeating something that´s already been done, we don´t do. Every exhibition seen at the Tate Modern is unique. It is not enough just to set up an exhibition for a famous artist.

BM: What stage have you reached with the Tate expansion project scheduled for 2012?
VT: At the moment we are trying to arrange the funding to carry it out. We are following plans, but we won´t start building until we are guaranteed the money.

BM: What will be able to see in the new extension?
VT: I don´t like to plan that far ahead. Americans do, but we don´t. We know the type of things we want, but not the exact contents. Within this framework there will be more space for looking at exhibitions of drawings, performances and installations...but what type of photography or what installations is still to be decided.