Essex lends business expertise to Colchester's oldest art gallery

University of Essex academics are teaming up with Colchester’s oldest art gallery in a bid to help secure its long-term future in the city centre.

Dr Misagh Tasavori and Dr Kholoud Mohsen, from Essex Business School, will be lending their expertise to The Minories as it bids to become financially independent and secure a sustainable income.

The gallery based on the High Street, which is run by the charity, We are the Minories (WATM), is seeking to establish new strands of income such as further grants and corporate sponsors to ensure it can continue to remain community focused and offer free entry to the public.

Through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), Drs Tasavori and Mohsen, alongside KTP Associate Darren Smith, will help develop a data-led and research-driven long-term strategic plan for WATM, giving the charity new knowledge and a skill set which will extend beyond the 18-month project.

WATM hopes to expand upon its existing offers of venue hire and long-term tenancies, through a detailed marketing plan and strategy to promote The Minories as a venue for events such as weddings, workshops, corporate away days and community meetings.

The charity will work with the academics to better evidence its community impact to increase the success rate of grant applications.

A further revenue stream of third-party consultancy will also be explored, with WATM hoping to share its expertise and experience of working with Essex with other organisations and charities in the sector aiming to copy the funding model.

Dr Tasavori said: “Working with The Minories is a wonderful opportunity to support a vital community asset and demonstrate how we can translate our research into real-world change.

“We hope to share our expertise and help build a long-term strategy that will not just safeguard the future of the gallery but allow it to thrive and expand as an organisation.”

KTPs are funded by Innovate UK and see knowledge bases such as universities share their expertise with businesses and organisations to support growth and explore innovative ideas.

The Minories Gallery Director, Emma Howe, said: “We are excited to be working with the University of Essex on this project. Although the gallery has been open since 1956, our charity is relatively young and we have only been running the gallery since 2023.

“This project will support our organisation’s small team with valuable skills and knowledge as we grow and help us in thinking creatively about how to sustain our business.”

For more information about working with Essex through the KTP programme, visit Knowledge Transfer Partnerships | University of Essex