As part of its new season launch, London’s Wigmore Hall has announced that it will become entirely privately funded and self-sufficient.
The venue has launched the Director’s Fund, designed to secure its future. The fund has already had £7 million pledged, and has a target to reach £10 million by 2027. ‘We are currently 97% self-funded; this target will allow Wigmore Hall to become 100% self-sufficient, if necessary.’
The remaining 3% of Wigmore Hall’s current funding model comes from the Arts Council, but Wigmore Hall’s statement acknowledges the ‘uncertain’ nature of this public funding environment as the reason for the introduction of its new funding drives.
- Simon Rattle speaks out on Arts Council cuts and BBC classical music funding
- Welsh National Opera: open letter laments Arts Council funding cut
This announcement comes in the wake of funding cuts to the arts and culture industries across the UK. In 2022, Arts Council England cut £50 million a year from arts organisations in London in its 2023-26 National Portfolio, with many organisations around the UK losing all or most of their funding
Wigmore Hall director John Gilhooly also revealed in his statement that the venue’s audiences have now exceeded pre-pandemic levels, the highest in the venue’s 123-year history. With 550 concerts scheduled for its upcoming season, Wigmore Hall is the UK’s largest classical music programme.
- City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to lose all funding from Birmingham City Council
- Psappha ensemble to close following withdrawal of Arts Council England funding
Top image: Kaupo Kikkas