OXFORD.- Modern Art Oxford is working with RIBA award-winning David Kohn Architects on a £1.2 million redesign of its ground and lower-ground floor spaces. The redesign will take place next summer when the gallery closes to the public, reopening in autumn 2024.

A New Welcome to the Building
A redesigned ground floor layout, including a new entrance to the main exhibition spaces, a welcome desk and shop, expanded learning spaces and an artist-designed café will vastly improve navigation, accessibility and environmental performance in the building.

A New Café Designed by Artist Emma Hart
The Modern Art Oxford café returns to the lower-ground floor and will be based on a celebratory concept created by British artist, Emma Hart. Club Together will celebrate raves and spaces where people come together for enjoyment and self-expression. Hart’s furniture in the café is inspired by dancing “hands in the air” which morph into seating, and tables that evoke disco lights throwing pools of coloured light onto the floor.

New Spaces for Learning and Participation
These include a new ground floor gallery and a specially designed creative learning studio, which will offer greater capacity for workshops and displays.

Improved Environmental Performance
The redesign will significantly improve the environmental performance of the building, helping the gallery reach a reduction in energy consumption, aligning Modern Art Oxford with a city-wide ambition to be carbon neutral by 2040.

Celebrating Oxford’s Heritage and Diverse Communities
Modern Art Oxford is housed in a former brewery. It is one of the few publicly accessible old industrial spaces in the city and an important feature of Oxford’s conservation area. This project aims to reclaim and celebrate the heritage of the building and its distinctive features. The refurbishment has been co-designed with local stakeholders and users and will place the city’s diverse communities at the heart of the building.