Description: A feasibility study of the previous investigations into a permanent digital art exhibition centre for Coventry, as a legacy from their role as the City of Culture. This pulled from strategies, external stakeholder consultations and proposed the network opportunities unique to the area, the international sector potential, the local programme potential and its role as an incubator space as well.

Objective/Success: To give guidance to if and how a centre could be funded. It was opened in less than two years from the date of the study with diverse funding sources.

Approach: Aligning the academic, commercial and tech innovation corridors and leveraging underused government funds in the enterprise grants, we found there was significant experimentation, resources, development happening in the area, and when cumulated, placed Coventry as an ideal location to draw from Oxford and Birmingham as well as its aero-nautical past. Pulling together a vision, themes and a potential structure gave confidence for the developers of The Telegraph Hotel to develop this public offer at their hotel, knowing Coventry would support its culture role in the area. It has attracted Chris Michaels, the previous Head of Digital at National Gallery and one of the founders of National Gallery X, an innovation space delivered in collaboration with Kings College.