William Edward "Will" Gompertz (born 25 August 1965) was the BBC's arts editor[1] before moving to a position as the Barbican Centre’s Artistic Director from 1 June 2021.[2]

Family and education

Gompertz is the son of general practitioner Hugh Gompertz OBE and a second cousin of Simon Gompertz, the personal finance correspondent for BBC News.[3] He was born in Tenterden, Kent, and attended Dulwich Preparatory School, in Cranbrook, Kentand then Bedford School. He was expelled from school aged 16 and left with no A-levels.[4]

Gompertz married teacher Kate Anderson, daughter of Sir Eric Anderson, in 1993 and they have three sons and one daughter.[5]

Career

Gompertz was previously director of Tate Media, and appeared in a show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009 called Double Art History.[6] Gompertz has written extensively for The Guardian and The Times newspapers. He is the author of What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye[7] and Think Like an Artist.[8]

It was announced, on 4 August 2023, that he would take over as Director of London's Sir John Soane's Museum from January 2024.[9]

References

  1. ↑ BBC News appoints Will Gompertz as first Arts Editor BBC Press Office, 28 August 2009
  2. ↑ "Barbican appoints Will Gompertz as new Director of Arts and Learning | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Will Gompertz: "We're brought up to be intimidated by art" The Observer 25 July 2010 Retrieved 29 March 2011
  4. ↑ Law, Katie (15 July 2015). "Will Gompertz: "We are all artists. We just have to believe it". Evening Standard.
  5. ↑ Urwin, Rosamund (15 December 2023). "Will Gompertz: Stop dumbing down TV" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  6. ↑ BBC News hires Tate Media's Will Gompertz as arts editor The Guardian, 2 September 2009
  7. ↑ Lewis, Ben (9 September 2012). "What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye by Will Gompertz – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Kampfner, John (19 July 2015). "Think Like an Artist review – where's the big picture?". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Will Gompertz to take over as Director of the Sir John Soane's Museum". ianVisits. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
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