Advisory

We understand the importance of strategic thinking and planning to achieve cultural objectives.

Our expansive international experience enables us to place each project in local, regional, and global contexts.

We achieve useful, workable, and inspired outcomes by working together with our clients, and their communities and stakeholders.

An indication of the range of projects for which we have contributed to is outlined below.

New cultural entity visioning

Some of the most exciting initiatives that we contribute to are greenfield projects. These require extremely creative and seriously strategic thinking at the same time.

We explore the big questions, and propose alternate solutions. Who is this for? What will it deliver? What could it look like? Is it sustainable? Is it really worthwhile? Or really exciting? Is this what is needed here, and now, and for tomorrow?

M7 Qatar's epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship in design, fashion and tech

**We developed the Initial concept vision** upon which this dynamic institution was founded.
M7 responds to the demands of **Qatar’s growing fashion and design industries and is dedicated to empowering designers to explore, collaborate, and develop successful businesses**. M7 provides local designers with all the necessary tools and expertise to enable them to take their ideas from concept to market. It is simultaneously an incubator, platform, hive, and commercial space.

Institutional strategic plans

Strategic planning involves defining where an institution is today, and where it wants to go in the future. The strategic plan helps communicate aims and objectives, identify priorities, and define short- and long-term goals. Working with team members and stakeholders, we build strategic plans together that have impact, are sustainable, and provide a structure that enables visionary thinking to achieve tangible outcomes.

The complex form of the desert rose, found in Qatar’s arid desert regions, inspired the striking design of the National Museum of Qatar building, conceived by French architect Jean Nouvel. Inside this inspiring building is a museum that brings to life the unique story of Qatar and its people in an innovative, holistic and immersive way.

We led the development of the initial Strategic Plan for this remarkable museum.

Institutional redevelopment

Most culture and heritage institutions need to be fine-tuned and updated every now and then. This may be the result of falling attendances, diminishing impact, changing leadership, increased competition, or any of a number of other reasons.

We work with our clients to revive the true spirit of an institution, and to make it impactful in a changing world again.

Just a few of our projects

Dubai Museum / Al Fahidi Fort
Het Hof van Nederland, Museum of Freedom
Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences
Buda Historic Home and Garden
West Space Gallery
Museum of Military Engineering
Kokoda Barracks Visitor Centre & Intelligence Museum
Image: Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences

Collections management

We can’t deny that it is our love of art and heritage things that drew us to work in this sector. And collections of things even more so. Caring for precious collections is important to us. Experience matters when managing collections, and our collections expertise includes:

audits, cataloguing and research for better management and further knowledge
development and management of collection archives
advising on suitable storage to ensure a collection’s survival
exploring opportunities for using collections in beneficial ways
managing loans to exhibitions to make the process simpler and safer

Some of our favourite collection projects

Qiddiya Authority Museums, KSA
Qatar Museums Department of Textiles and Fashion
Australian Racing Museum
Groninger Museum
Coopers & Lybrand Utrecht
University of Melbourne
National Australia Bank
Australian Ballet School

Culture & heritage tourism

Art, culture and heritage provide the inspiration for much of the world’s tourism. Our work includes seeking out new opportunities for our clients, as well as facilitating the enhancement of existing offerings.

Our work ranges from site-specific programmes to national, industry-wide strategies. Our focus embraces preservation, engagement, diversification, and economic outcomes.

Saudi Tourism Authority Visitor Experience Best-Practice Guides

This comprehensive initiative is aimed at **improving the visitor experience at heritage tourism destinations in the Kingdom**. The programme provided tangible means of internal self-assessment by operators in terms of visitor experience immersion, visitor journey steps, and commercial anchor frameworks.
Each guide is accompanied by exhaustive checklists to enable operator to understand their offering through the ‘visitor’s eyes’, identify critical areas of improvement, and develop action plans to improve their destination
We worked in conjunction with Syndikati and Lord Cultural Resources for the Saudi Tourism Authority, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where we developed content and standards for the Heritage Villages, Historic Districts, and Cultural Souqs guides and checklists.

Public art strategies

Art in public places can have a positive impact on the physical environment, as well as on the wellbeing of the people who live, work, or visit. Public art often forms an integral part of a governing body’s commitment to the creation of dynamic, innovative, and sustainable environments.

At its best, it helps uniquely define the public realm in meaningful ways. It can be permanent or temporary, inside or outside, a stand-along feature or integrated into the environment. Our public art clients include governments, corporations, universities, and foundations.

Thinking big; Australian-sized big

We have prepared the public art strategies for two regional shires in southern Australia, each of which stretched across towns, national parks, rural and coastal landscapes.
Corangamite Shire covers 4,407 square kilometers and Glenelg Shire 6,212 square kilometers.
Public art has an important role to play even when its situated in spectacular settings as this.

Training & guidance strategies for artists & arts workers

Art, culture, and heritage practitioners across the globe are experiencing far-reaching changes and rapid growth of the ecosystem in which they operate. Professional development programmes that facilitate skills enhancement as well as knowledge broadening help participants keep up with continual transformation. Life-long learning is the watchword today.

A significant project that we undertook recently In conjunction with our continuing partners CCA Consulting has led to a unique national initiative. Our task was to support the KSA Museums Commission’s Talent and Education Department with a development study to enable the establishment of a Museums Training Academy that will directly support the emerging and future talent of the Kingdom. We look forward to seeing this initiative unfold.

Career guidance & mentorship programme

Responding to the dynamic KSA context, The Ministry of Culture’s Visual Arts Commission launched the Career Guidance and Mentorship Project in order to provide early-career, visual arts practitioners with the opportunity to receive individualised, practical support from international experienced arts professionals.
A suite of programmes was developed and implemented which aimed at developing an informed and supportive network. through mentorships, cultural study tours, and a contemporary art sector conference that brought a wave if global specialists to Riyadh.
We worked in conjunction with the terrific BLR World team of specialists to deliver this energising programme, and which now continues independently.

Site interpretation plans

We prepare interpretation plans for museums, exhibitions, cultural tourism destinations, historic houses, and World Heritage sites.

Al-Faw was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in July 2024. Known as the western gateway of the great ar-Rubʿ al-Khali desert, Al-Faw covers 4,847 hectares and encompasses around 12,000 archaeological features. These testify to two main spatially distinct stages of human occupation: from prehistoric nomadic and semi-nomadic presence to an urban settlement when an ancient caravan city developed in the oasis between the second half of the 1st millennium BCE and the 5th century CE.

The creation of interpretation and visitation facilities to present the cultural landscape and the archaeological site is a key component of the cultural strategy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Nominated Property.