We connect the right skills for each unique project
We draw on a core team of associates together with a wider network of contacts and partner agencies to bring the right mix according to client needs
Oliver Vicars-Harris
Oliver Vicars-Harris - Director
Oliver’s background is in the cultural sector, where he has held several senior roles over the last 25 years alongside his work as a consultant. With a strong audience focus, Oliver specialises in strategic problem solving, assisting creative innovation and communication to promote content and brand.
He started his career championing access to cultural content through pioneering digital initiatives such as Tate Online. He went on to lead innovative projects for some of the UK’s most respected visual and performing arts venues. He has also supported a range of organisations of different scales in the broader heritage and education sector.
He has built trusted client relationships with many of the UK's leading arts teams and has developed an extensive network of professional contacts. He is a Trustee of Shobana Jeyansingh Dance, a highly acclaimed contemporary dance company dedicated to activating thought through movement.
For more on Oliver's work, including a comprehensive list of past projects and a range of testimonials from contacts and clients, see his profile on LinkedIn.
Associates
Oliver works with a trusted group of associates with complementary skills and who share the same values in terms of professionalism and passion.
Emma Hunt - Business Development
Emma Hunt
Emma is an experienced strategic business leader with over 25 years working in the arts and heritage sector and more widely in the charity sector.
Having operated at CEO level, Emma has a keen awareness of the wide range of challenges facing organisations today.
Emma comes from a commercial background in the arts specialising in business strategy. She is an expert in brand and image licensing, location filming, hire and events, retail and catering.
Clients have included Tate, National Gallery, V&A, Charleston, Towner Eastbourne and House of Commons, and she has worked as the business director for Roundhouse, Tower Bridge, Camden Arts Centre and most recently the Amelia Cultural Centre.
Emma supports us with creative commercial strategy to underpin business development.
Nicole Newman - Fundraising Strategy
Nicole Newman
Nicole is a specialist with experience of delivering successful fundraising and sponsorship strategies for leading cultural institutions in the UK and internationally.
She has over 25 years experience in senior development roles in major arts organisations including Development Director at English National Ballet, English National Opera and Somerset House and Head of Corporate Fundraising at V&A and Tate.
Established as a consultant since 2016, she provides strategic development plans for the cultural sector. This includes support, training, mentoring and hands-on fundraising.
A seasoned professional with a pragmatic grasp of the challenges faced by the cultural sector, Nicole supports us in putting realistic and sustainable development strategies in place.
Hannah Redler Hawes - Programming & Curation
Hannah Redler
Hannah specialises in emerging and multidisciplinary practice which raises social, cultural and ethical questions within contemporary culture. She works across the fields of art, data, science and technology and has particular expertise in collaboration, participation and media art.
Hannah develops audience-focused projects in a variety of contexts. Her curatorial projects have involved bringing leading artists and researchers together to address a broad range of subjects.
Alongside her independent work Hannah is the Director of Data as Culture, the art programme for the Open Data Institute (ODI). Previously Hannah worked for the Science Museum Group, primarily as Head of Science Museum Arts Programme, where she curated and directed an extensive range of exhibitions and events and established the Science Museum contemporary art collection.
Hannah supports us with intelligent curation and programming in a wide range of cultural contexts.
Shaun Romain - Market Analysis
Shaun Romain
Shaun has over 25 years experience as a cultural business developer, with a keen understanding of the marketplace.
He started his career at Charleston, the home of Bloomsbury, moving on to lead Arts Council England’s audience development agency for the south of England and acting as Creative Director for the National Trust.
A decade ago he established his own practice focused on cultural consumption and how communities and populations engage with different cultural, creative and educational products and opportunities. Over the past 20 years he has undertaken over 200 projects from national government reviews to local community project evaluations.
Shaun supports us with pragmatic market analysis to support sound business planning.
Sheila Lawson - Technical Analysis
Sheila Lawson
Sheila is a highly experienced technical strategist with a detailed understanding of the front and backend systems integration necessary to support effective websites.
Sheila has been working in digital development for 25 years supporting the delivery of major web projects and providing advice to clients for a client base that ranges from multinationals to Turner Prize nominees. She established her consultancy in 2001, developing websites and carrying out the roles of technical project management, database design, website planning and information architecture.
She has managed and developed sites and systems for a broad range of creative and cultural organisations including the RCA, Serpentine Galleries, New Contemporaries, The Courtauld, Barbican and the Design Council.
Sheila supports us with detailed technical analysis to identify systems options and appropriate solutions.
Adrian Cooper - Digital Collections & Asset Management
Adrian Cooper
Adrian is a highly experienced technical strategist, producer and project director with extensive experience across the cultural sector.
Having held technology leadership roles at both the Royal Opera House and V&A, Adrian went on to manage operations for Gallery Systems. There he was responsible for the planning and implementation of collections and digital asset management systems in a range of leading cultural collections across UK, Europe and USA.
Since becoming established as a consultant in 2003, Adrian has built a strong portfolio of successful projects. His recent work for National Gallery, Science Museum and Art UK has focused on strategic technology transformation.
A true hybrid, Adrian supports us by combining strong analytical thinking with solid technical knowledge embedded in an understanding of the issues surrounding culture and heritage.
Partners
We have established some key partnerships with agencies who’s approach dovetails closely with ours in realising the outputs of our strategic thinking.
Unthinkable are a collective of digital practitioners focused on using digital media to find better ways of connecting people together to do good things.
They support clients with creating digital experiences that inspire, entertain, teach and enable people to better connect. Since 2010, they have worked to develop digital products, services and strategies across sectors including Learning, Arts, Broadcast and Charities – always keeping the user at the centre of their thinking.
With a particular focus on digital learning, they work in partnership with us to create strategies that are memorable and can form a practical basis for digital development and capacity building.
Spy is a design practice who create meaningful brands, elegant websites and a multitude of materials across all things social, printed, physical and moving.
Since 2003 they have been enabling ambitious clients in the cultural and education sectors to be bold and effective in conveying their personality. They are adept at listening and taking a strategy-led approach, resulting in work that distils complexity into clear communication through crisp design thinking.
With a particular focus on amplifying brand through digital development, they work in partnership with us to develop bold creative ideas and express them through the power of great design.
One Further are a group of digital specialists with a focus on helping cultural organisations use data to better understand and engage with their audiences.
They bring expertise in the the black arts of digital analytics, usability research and content strategy to optimise SEO. We love working with them because, although what they do is highly technical, they always speak in plain English and are friendly, generous and helpful.
With a particular focus on data insight, they work in partnership with us to ensure that digital products and services are informed by tangible measurement models and sound thinking from the outset.
“There are lots of consultants but very few who get down to delivering in practice.
Oliver and his team is the resource you need to turn ideas into a well executed and fully documented project.”
V&A new Exhibition Road entrance © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017