Building excellence in the cultural sector: Modern Art Oxford

Modern Art Oxford is based in a 19th century converted brewery storehouse, owned by Oxford City Council.

Project overview

The building has been adapted in a piecemeal style over the years and has suffered from a lack of significant investment in maintenance. The capital project focused on improving the fabric of the building and its thermal performance as well as upgrading lifts, internal services and the technology infrastructure. Although investment in digital systems was a small part of the overall expenditure, it has acted as a catalyst for new ways of working and there has been a significant improvement in the quality of the working environment with positive impacts on staff morale and wellbeing. 

Facts and figures

Total capital cost: £576,501

Funding: £499,999 from Arts Council England (Small Capital Grant); £75,000 from individual benefactors 

Project team: Modern Art Oxford (Client); Carter Jonas; (Project management); Inside Out Developments Ltd.(Contractors)

Project timetable 

2014: feasibility study for large capital scheme

2017/18: proposed capital programme parcelled into smaller elements; successful small capital grant application to Arts Council England

2018: work completed

Project management

The refurbishment project benefited from internal and external project management expertise. Carter Jonas oversaw liaison with the contractors, while Helen Shilton (Head of Operations and Visitor Services, Modern Art Oxford) managed the internal office move. The galleries were kept open during the refurbishment period, which meant managing the logistics of visitors as well as the team. Helen was on site throughout the project, resulting in a tendency for the contractors to communicate with her on a regular basis as well as through Carter Jonas. 

The capital works

The project consisted of a range of essential refurbishment and maintenance works:

• all windows replaced with double glazed units
• essential repointing on the tower
• heating replaced with a more efficient hot/cold system
• a new patch panel, re-cabling and rewiring
• a new phone system
• a new lift 
• a second staff toilet
• redecorating and new office furnishings

Digital infrastructure  

Modern Art Oxford is housed at 30 Pembroke Street, Oxford, in a building that was originally designed by architect Harry Drinkwater in 1888 as a brewery storehouse. It was converted into its current use as a contemporary gallery in 1996. The building is owned by Oxford City Council and was acquired piecemeal with new sections being added over time, serving as a challenge to any refurbishment works in terms of knowing where services are rooted. This was part of the motivation for the refurbishment works, as maintaining some of the existing technology infrastructure was becoming problematic because it was not clear where the cabling was located. The state of repair of the building was also having an impact in terms of Modern Art Oxford’s environmental impact.

The focus of the work was the brewing tower which needed external improvement and is where the staff offices are located. Prior to the refurbishment the offices had unreliable temperature control, very slow internet speeds via old Cat 5 cables and a patch panel at the end of its useful life. As a visual arts organisation this was particularly limiting and was having an impact on staff morale and effectiveness.

During the project the staff team relocated to other areas of the building and more flexible working was introduced in the form of hotdesking and home working. This new way of working has continued since the team moved back into the refurbished offices. Helen describes the process as Modern Art Oxford coming into the 21st century. Modern Art Oxford was now able to benefit from the things that other organisations might take for granted. The team has a nicer environment in which to work to work that is more functional, comfortable and generally makes life easier. 

In terms of advice Helen might give to others, one of the core themes is around the capacity it takes to manage the project, and this will inform any future projects at Modern Art Oxford. She found that being on site meant she was called on a lot and even though there was external project management resource available, some form of backfill would have helped. Trying to complete the works while staying open also has an impact and while the experience of others suggested avoiding it, as the project was mainly back office it was harder to justify closing for that period. 

Modern Art Oxford has had a digital strategy for some time, but the refurbishments and the improvements have moved it to a new level. 

The project included:

• superfast broadband
• a state-of-the-art patch panel
• new laptops
• a VOIP telephone system

When the staff members moved to the temporary office space, they started to work on cloud-based systems which helped with the necessary flexibility, and this has continued. This has required the development of new policies about flexible working, bringing your own devices to work and GDPR. Having effective, fast and reliable digital infrastructure has also opened up new opportunities and enabled the development of a different mindset in relation to digital practices.

One implication of the digital improvements is the need for additional storage as more content is being generated for a range of channels, something that had not been an issue in the past. Modern Art Oxford is currently looking for a board member with digital expertise, more training will be undertaken to enable the team to fully exploit the new systems, and there will be a renewed focus on what is being offered digitally for audiences. The team has also been restructured to include a digital content curator (previously marketing and communications) with the intention of digital content being fully integrated across the programme.

Helen describes the consequences of the project as being more far-reaching than anticipated: ‘the small capital grant has made a huge difference to our office environment and vastly improved our digital capabilities.’ The digital elements of the small capital project have acted as a catalyst to:

• create more flexible and progressive working practices
• look at digital and audiences in more depth
• build expertise in the team and board
• continue to develop Modern Art Oxford’s digital strategy

The experience of Modern Art Oxford demonstrates that even modest improvements that are largely unseen can have a significant impact on organisational practices, opportunities and ambitions.