Independent Museum & Cultural Strategy Practice
Get the thinking right, WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
I help cultural projects make the right decisions at critical stages: defining new institutions, developing concepts, bringing projects that have lost direction back on track, and maintaining a coherent creative vision from design through delivery.
My approach combines senior creative leadership, built over more than 15 years and 120+ cultural projects, with a custom, supervised AI research pipeline. It brings the depth of a multidisciplinary team to research, curatorial strategy and concept development, while maintaining the coherence and accountability of a single senior author. Experienced specialists in architecture, exhibition design, interpretation and multimedia join when needed.
I work with a limited number of clients at a time, staying personally involved in every engagement. Based in Spain, I collaborate internationally, remotely and on site when needed. Early conversations help establish the right scope, schedule and working relationship.
SENIOR EXPERTISE · AI-ENABLED PRACTICE · FIXED FEES FOR DEFINED SCOPES · WHITE-LABEL AVAILABLE · REGISTERED IN SPAIN
How it works
1. Start with a conversation
Tell me about your project in a few sentences. No formal brief or commitment required.
2. Initial assessment within 48 hours
I’ll review your enquiry, identify where I can add value and suggest a short discovery call.
3. Scope and proposal
We’ll discuss your objectives, constraints and priorities. You’ll then receive a fixed-fee proposal with defined deliverables, timeline and review stages, normally within 48 hours of our call.
4. Development and delivery
I lead the work personally, with agreed milestones, reviews and approvals. The engagement concludes with clearly documented deliverables and a presentation where required.
Why CLIENTS CHOOSE me
Deeper research
Several AI agents search in parallel, covering far more sources, precedents and comparable cases than a team can review by hand. Every finding stays traceable to its source.
Built on standards, not intuition
The pipeline works from a curated knowledge base of international museum standards, ethics codes and established methods, so every concept rests on recognised practice.
AI-verified, human-approved
Two independent AI models challenge every direction for narrative, evidence, audience experience and feasibility. Then I review and approve each stage personally.
One author, one coherent vision
You get the depth of a team without the handovers. The strategy, narrative and concept stay consistent from the first research to the final brief.
SEE METHOD
Senior strategy and concept work for museums, cultural institutions, developers and visitor centres, from defining the institution through to opening. Fixed fees for defined scopes, with Diagnostic and Framework fees credited towards a Concept Stage. NDA on request.
DEFINE THE INSTITUTION
INSTITUTIONAL & CURATORIAL STRATEGY
from €18,000 · about 4-8 weeks · 2 review rounds
For new institutions, relocations, repositioning, or those without a public strategy. Establishes institutional identity, audiences and sustainability before exhibition planning begins.
01
Strategic research
Context, collections and existing policies, a benchmark of up to 12 comparable institutions, the audience landscape and stakeholder interviews if needed.
Deliverable: Strategic research document
02
Institutional framework
Positioning, mission, vision and values, audience priorities and communication, with existing statutes and policies brought into one framework.
Deliverable: Institutional framework
03
Programme & curatorial strategy
The roles of galleries, exhibitions, education and public programmes, collection interpretation principles and a roadmap.
Deliverable: Programme & curatorial strategy, with roadmap
04
Commercial strategy
Establishes approaches to earned income, commercial activities, institutional partnerships and sponsorship. Defines opportunities, priorities and operating principles, without developing detailed financial projections.
Deliverable: Commercial strategy
CONCEPT DIAGNOSTIC
€2,500 · typically 5-6 working days
An independent assessment before a consequential approval, investment or reset. Brief and materials reviewed, risks mapped, what to keep and what to reopen, and a recommended next step. 10-15 pages of findings and a 60-minute debrief. Credited in full against a Concept Stage signed within 60 days.
Deliverable: Written findings & 60-minute debrief
RESEARCH & CURATORIAL FRAMEWORK
from €6,000 · 2-3 weeks · 2 review rounds
Source-traceable research, a precedent benchmark, a thematic and curatorial framework, audience and visitor hypotheses and a content matrix, with one review round. Credited against a Concept Stage signed within 60 days, as its first phase.
Deliverable: Research dossier, curatorial framework & content matrix
ADD-ONS
from €1,500 each
Visual direction, digital and technology strategy, operational and commercial principles, stakeholder workshops and interviews, audience analysis, added to a Concept Stage or Institutional Strategy.
Also available as separate deliverables
DEFINE THE EXPERIENCE
CONCEPT STAGE
from €15,000 · about 4-8 weeks · 2 review rounds
For a new museum, exhibition, gallery programme, cultural space or visitor centre with a subject, site or ambition, but no resolved concept. It delivers a decision-ready concept foundation for your design team.
01
Evidence & precedents
A research summary with traceable sources and the critical unknowns, plus a benchmark of what comparable institutions did and what it means for your project.
Deliverable: Research summary & precedent benchmark
02
Curatorial framework & audiences
Themes, messages and the logic connecting collection, story and audience, with a visitor proposition, labelled as hypotheses unless primary research is commissioned.
Deliverable: Curatorial framework & visitor proposition
03
Concept development
A few creative directions evaluated, one developed into narrative architecture, visitor journey, zoning, experience logic and principles for exhibits, media and content.
Deliverable: Concept covering narrative, journey, zoning & content principles
04
Brief & approval
A design-stage brief with open questions for your design team, an approval presentation and concept deck, and an evidence and decision register.
Deliverable: Design-stage brief & concept deck
CONCEPT DEPARTMENT
1 week €3,750 · 2 weeks €7,000 / month · 3-month minimum
A senior concept lead reserved for your project: one or two full weeks every month, in which I work full time on your project and nothing else. For institutions and developers with a project in development that needs continuous senior input: concept development, content and interpretation decisions, design reviews and briefs for your teams. Each month starts with an agreed work plan. Unused days do not roll over.
Deliverable: Agreed monthly outputs & progress note
CREATIVE DIRECTION
from €25,000 · scoped by phase
The concept held intact through design, content and production: authorship and interpretation decisions, concept, design and content reviews, media direction and creative sign-off recommendations at agreed milestones. Also available to studios as their subcontractor, under NDA.
Deliverable: Review notes & sign-off recommendations at each milestone
ADD-ONS
from €1,500 each
Museum-wide narrative, gallery interpretation briefs, visitor flow, visitor journey maps, accessibility and media principles, and cultural programming, added to a Concept Stage. Primary visitor research (surveys, interviews or focus groups that test the audience hypotheses) from €4,500.
Also available as separate deliverables
For agencies & studios
Senior concept capacity for architects, exhibition designers, experience agencies and multimedia studios. Concept Department members receive preferential pricing, with risk-sharing arrangements available for selected tenders. White-label available. NDA on request. No competing bids on the same project.
EXTEND YOUR TEAM
CONCEPT DEPARTMENT
1 week €3,750 · 2 weeks €7,000 / month · 3-month minimum
Your concept department without the headcount: one or two full weeks every month, in which I work full time inside your team. Use the time for tenders, briefs, concept development or creative reviews, planned with you at the start of each month. Includes priority booking and partner pricing on Bid Concepts. Unused days do not roll over.
Deliverable: Agreed monthly outputs, white-label on request
BID CONCEPT
from €5,000 · typically 7-15 working days
A senior, client-ready concept for a tender or competition: big idea, narrative, visitor journey, up to five zone concepts and submission text, with one review round. The clock starts when complete tender documents are received and the fee is confirmed.
Deliverable: Concept & submission text in your format
BID CONCEPTS PACK
€13,500 · 3 Bid Concepts at €4,500 each
For studios with several tenders ahead. Prepaid, valid for 12 months and booked at least 5 working days in advance. A bid larger than the standard scope uses one credit plus the difference.
DEFINE PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR STUDIOS
from €25,000 · scoped by phase
Senior creative direction inside your delivery, as your subcontractor under NDA and never directly to your client: for work outside your scope, or a project that needs a senior creative lead. Production Management available on the same terms as for owners.
Deliverable: Review notes & sign-off recommendations at each milestone
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
10% of the approved third-party budget · minimum €2,000 per month
An optional second role alongside Creative Direction. Creative Direction decides what the experience must be; Production Management makes sure the people building it deliver it. I source and coordinate experienced content producers, multimedia designers, AV and technical integrators, fit-out contractors and equipment suppliers: procurement support, programme and milestones, budget reporting, deliverable tracking and handover coordination. For agencies, provided as your subcontractor under NDA.
Contractors are contracted and paid directly by you, and supplier discounts are passed on in full. I am responsible for the agreed management duties, without assuming their contractual, technical or statutory obligations.
Deliverable: Monthly progress & budget reports, handover file
“I have known Boris as an outstanding creative director in exhibition design. He played a key role in shaping our museum, leading multimedia and content development from narrative to interactive solutions, and significantly enhancing the visitor experience. I highly recommend him.”
Oksana Bondarenko, Director
The Moscow Transport Museum
“We have worked with Boris as a creative consultant, and his input consistently adds strategic value at early stages. He brings clarity to complex projects by structuring concepts, defining narrative and visitor experience frameworks, and aligning content, space, and media into a coherent system.”
John Munro, CEO & Chief Creative Officer
Immersive International
“I worked with Boris at the Museum of Russian Diaspora and highly recommend him. He shaped the multimedia concept, led content production, and oversaw the overall delivery. He is an exceptional talent with deep practical expertise, and one of the finest creative directors I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”
Andrey Vovk, Design Director
Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA)