Will Gompertz, the artistic director of the Barbican and a former BBC arts editor, will be the director of the Sir John Soane’s Museum in central London in the new year.
The 57-year-old has been at the helm of the Barbican since 2021, after a long stint of reporting and commentating on the arts. As well as working for the BBC, he has written for the Guardian and the Times, and has written three books on art.
He recently identified cancel culture as the greatest challenge facing the arts. “The purpose of the arts is to question, challenge, reflect and enlighten. Great art reveals a truth, and debate and disagreement about the nature of that truth is a function of art,” he told Prospect magazine.
“But such is the rallying power of social media, debate is being stifled by self-censorship and fear of disagreeing with the prevailing orthodoxy. Previous generations have fought hard for free speech; so must we.”
The Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields contains paintings, sculptures, furniture, antiquities and models collected by the Regency architect. The museum was Soane’s home and has been kept as it was at the time of his death in 1837.
According to the museum’s website, Soane built the house as a “laboratory for his architectural ideas, referring to its rooms as ‘studies for my mind’”. It is perhaps the earliest example in England of a house designed by a professional architect for their own use, it says.
The museum has undergone a restoration project in recent years and attracted record visitor numbers in 2022-23.
Gompertz said: “I am delighted to be joining Sir John Soane’s Museum at such an exciting time, following decades of restoration across the renowned architect’s extraordinary house and collection led by its brilliant conservators, curators and previous directors.
“I look forward to championing the museum and Soane’s vision, bringing audiences to our newly restored home and taking Soane’s vision out into the world.”
Lord Sassoon, the chair of the museum’s trustees, said Gompertz was “one of today’s leading thinkers and communicators across the arts” and was “the person to build on Soane’s legacy”.
The Barbican said Gompertz would leave “a strong legacy of projects delivered and still in development, and his positive impact on the Barbican will be felt for a long time to come”.