Doris Salcedo Ordway, Driskell Prize-Winners Announced “Destructive” Art

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A crack that widens as it runs the length of the museum's 548-feet-long Turbine Hall, Salcedo's work is intended to symbolize racial hatred and division.

The Tate has positioned staff to monitor visitors around the hall, posted warning signs in the gallery, and distributed leaflets warning of potential injury, but four of the 15 accidents, some of which resulted in minor injuries, have nevertheless been reported to government authorities.

In an internal email, Dennis Ahern, the museum’s head of safety and security, wrote that higher levels of control of entry, barrier or demarcation lines, and laying a sturdy transparent material over certain sections should be considered if it appeared that the existing measures were not enough.

A Tate spokesperson said that there are no plans to employ these protective measures, which, Ahern wrote, have been avoided to preserve the integrity of the work.