The news that Wigmore Hall in London is to turn its back on an annual subsidy of £345,000 from Arts Council England (ACE), after a successful campaign to raise £10m from individuals and the private sector, is almost as beautiful to my ears as the last thing I heard there, which was the Dunedin Consort playing Henry Purcell.
Its director, John Gilhooly, is surely right to free his institution from the Let’s Create strategy, which informs all ACE’s funding decisions, linking subsidies to onerous outreach work rather than to excellence in performance. Such organisations shouldn’t have to do what is properly the work of the government, and perhaps the Wigmore’s decision is the start of resistance to this. I certainly hope so.
