I’ll stop museum losses by 2026

THE incoming director of the River & Rowing Museum in Henley wants it to be covering its costs within three years.

Steve O’Connor, 41, who will start work when the museum re-opens next month, has prioritised reducing its operating deficit, which hit more than £510,000 in the last financial year.

The museum in Mill Meadows has been closed since October while its leaking roof is replaced.

This is part of a £1.4 million project designed to save it from the threat of financial ruin.

Since it opened in 1998, the museum has recorded annual deficits averaging £250,000 despite receiving more than two million visitors.

Mr O’Connor, a former rower who lives in Ancastle Green, Henley, says he is well aware of the scale of the challenge facing him.

He said: “I know some of the trustees and I have read all the press reports, so I knew what was going on. I have seen all the accounts, so I have been able to sit down and try to map a way through it. It is a big challenge, a mountain to climb.

“All the work that’s gone on to get the building sorted has been essential and part of why I am here is to look at how we can improve and add income streams to make it pay for itself.

“The first thing to do is get the house in order and get a business that is functioning properly. That includes making sure that the galleries and the team is ready.

“We must also ensure that the messages that we hope to promote are communicated so the museum will be ready to go in time for its re-opening.”

Mr O’Connor is to step down as chief executive of Fulham Reach Boat Club, which he founded in 2013 and has helped thousands of teenagers from deprived backgrounds to experience rowing.

“It felt like a natural point to think about the next step,” he said.

“The club has come out of the covid pandemic well and is in a reasonably healthy position. Now it’s time for someone else to come in with a new vision to take the club even further.” He said the museum was a “cracking challenge”.

Mr O’Connor said: “It can be a massive asset to the town, to the sport and to the wider community on the river.

“I know we need to solve the financial difficulties but it has echoes of what I did at Fulham in that I had to build that up from zero.

“Ultimately, I am a big fan of the museum and have visited it regularly to attend events and I have taken my young children.

“When I saw the role advertised, it came at the right time. I think I am the right person for it and the museum needs that leadership now to take it into the future.

“We have a fantastic venue, great subject matter and a really great team.

“I have gone into this with my eyes open. I have given myself a three-year time frame to make the museum cover its costs.

“The one thing at Fulham was we moved quickly and that’s what I want to do here. While I accept that doesn’t always happen with museums, I like to get the ball rolling.

“In my own mind I will close the financial gap in three years or, by the third year, will have got very close and have a clear direction of travel.

“All the trustees have been supportive. They see the building work as the first phase of change and they are very much alive to the fact that we need to make further changes.

“We need to test to see what works and what doesn’t and we need to learn from that because we can’t sit still. It is a real moment of change for the museum.

“The trustees realise we can’t continue to have an average annual operating gap of £250,000 and recognise we have all this potential that hasn’t been realised.

“My appointment is quite a good signal that they are open to change and they are prepared to stick to a plan.

“What I am keen on is the connection between the building and the river, how we tell the story of the river and get people out there and make them understand the significance of it.”

Mr O’Connor says the key to the museum’s future will be making the most of its facilities so that it is more attractive to visitors and reconnects with key stakeholders in the town.

He said: “I have been to various events at the museum so I have a good feel for where it sits in the sport and the community.

“Within the sport it has been a great resource as there is nowhere centrally to talk about the history of rowing, both nationally and internationally.

“In the community, the educational side has been great and has done well, particularly for early years children.

“But the museum has probably lost its way as being the centre of the community so there is an opportunity there to put it back as a community hub.

“I just don’t think what’s there has been refreshed enough but that’s another opportunity to tell more stories and in a more engaging and interactive way.

“What I am looking to do is liaise with stakeholders, everybody from the town with a vested interest in the river, and the rowing community and work with them to build the relevance and reach of the museum.

“We also have to make sure that we innovate and adapt.

“One of the signs that we have done this will be when the museum starts to feel like a hub of the community, when we can have all sorts going on there and sports clubs, schools and people coming to learn about the history of the town and the river. If we can do that, we will be successful.”

Since the museum closed, staff have been cataloguing every piece that it has in storage so that new displays can be created.

Mr O’Connor said: “The first thing I will do is to finish the collection project. I want to get that done early so we know exactly what we have got. There are more than 30,000 objects in the collection but not all of it is appropriate to display. We need to sort out a way of getting some objects back to their owners.

“Once we have catalogued everything, we can prioritise new displays and exhibitions so the museum will feel new and different. We also need to think about how we can tell the stories. Digital technology is my area of interest — virtual reality is a way of bringing some displays to life. Interactive technology is becoming more important across the industry.

“It will take some time to do but I would also love the rowing collection here to be recognised as a national collection.”

The museum needed to be more relevant and a more interesting and exciting place to visit.

“We need to get the numbers up by having a brilliant product,” said Mr O’Connor.

“We are looking to revitalise each gallery and make sure that the stories we are telling are relevant and contextual to the environment we are in today.

“By creating a culture of innovation and making sure that we are always thinking of new ways to tell the stories, we will get more people in and to visit more frequently and so help us to close the gap financially.

“We need to think of new ways to generate income. Charitable fund-raising is becoming more and more difficult but the museum has the ability to make money and cover its own costs.”

Mr O’Connor said the museum’s gift shop could have an online presence and the museum could start giving visitors tours of the town and to use its jetty to offer them trips on the river.

“Going out on the river should be a part of the museum experience,” he said.

“There is a lot of work to be done about creating those income streams. We have also got the former educational block which we hope will become offices to bring in income.”

He said that discounted tickets for people living in the RG9 postcode was also a possibility, having been successfully used by the town council for its adventure golf course in Mill Meadows.

Mr O’Connor said he had met members of the Henley Archaeological and Historical Group, whose chairman Michael Redley has criticised the museum for not prioritising local history.

He said: “I am absolutely committed to telling a better story about the town. The Henley gallery has done so but there is much more to tell and it can be told in a much better way.

“We could change the museum’s name, although I won’t say that it will change tomorrow or in time for the soft opening in April.

“What we have got to do before that is get the product right.

“We have some knowledgeable experts like Michael to help us review and improve our offering.

“What came across at the meeting was that everyone wanted to see the museum succeed. There was a willingness to help make that happen, which was fantastic.”

• What do you think? Write to: Letters, Henley Standard, Caxton House, 1 Station Road, Henley or email letters@henleystandard.co.uk