Richard Dorment’s review of the decade in the arts in the UK for the Telegraph includes this tale of the democratization of Contemporary art:

The full extent of the impact the opening of Tate Modern in 2000 has had on the culture of the country has yet to be understood. Only a few years before, the night of the Turner Prize was a slightly frightening occasion when the tabloids raged, Brian Sewell howled, and there were disgruntled artists gruntled on the steps of the Tate Gallery. But Bankside’s record-breaking visitor numbers changed that almost over night.

Here’s a memory I cherish: the year after Martin Creed won the Turner Prize with a work in which the lights went on and off in an empty gallery, I was on the London underground when my train stopped between stations. Inside the carriage, the lights went off, then on, then off again several times. After a few minutes, as the train started to move again, the driver apologised for the delay over the loudspeaker: “That stop was brought to you by the winner of this year’s Turner Prize.” And the really remarkable thing was that everybody laughed.

Art: Review of the Decade (Telegraph)