Serota defends ACE strategy following Wigmore Hall portfolio departure

Arts Council England (ACE) chair Nicholas Serota has defended the organisation’s commitment to inclusion and access in the wake of criticism of community outreach work requirements placed on the arts organisations it funds.

Last month London’s Wigmore Hall announced it will leave the National Portfolio in April next year, saying it has raised enough from private donors to free itself from the funder’s “onerous” requirements.

Writing in an open letter published today Serota said that while he welcomes the news that the venue will no longer require the support of public investment, its “achievement at fundraising in a wealthy part of central London cannot and must not be used as an argument against public funding for culture”.

He said public funding for the arts “remains essential, especially in the current economic climate”.

“Over the past 30 years, arts organisations in England have achieved creative success that is admired around the globe,” the letter, co-signed by 65 members of ACE’s national and area councils, says.

“They have delivered joy and opportunity in communities across the country, and at the same time they have played an irreplicable role in the talent pathways that can take artists to the world stage – and to stages all around the world.

“They have done all of this via a funding model built on a foundation of public investment, income earned at the box office or through commercial income streams, and money raised from companies, trusts and individuals.

“But that model is currently threatened by the pressures on local authority funding, the steady reduction in the real value of national investment, and rising costs. Remove public funding, and many of these organisations may not survive. The privileged few will be all we have left.”

‘Let’s Create is both just and justifiable’

The letter adds that while Wigmore Hall based its decision no longer to take public funding in part on a dissatisfaction with ACE’s Let’s Create strategy, the principle that underpins the strategy – that everyone deserves access to the very best of creativity and culture – is “both just and justifiable”.

“Every audience member, every performer or artist, every child who dreams of growing up and earning a living from their creativity: all are deserving of the public provision of exceptional culture,” it states.

“We’re proud of our strategy, which was developed in consultation with the public, artists and the cultural sector, and which sets out a balanced commitment to inclusion and access, and to the support and realisation of ambition and artistic excellence.

“Since its launch in 2021, we have seen the way in which it has enhanced opportunities for people and communities across England. We will continue to champion it, and the creative individuals and organisations that sustain culture in this country.”