Moco Museum gets approval to open Marble Arch museum of modern art

A new museum will be opening in Marble Arch next year, as the Amsterdam based Moco Museum (Modern Contemporary Museum) has taken a lease on three floors of an Oxford Street building.

They applied for planning permission to convert the space from being allocated as retail into a museum, and last night, Westminster Council’s planning committee approved the change of use.

The Moco Museum is an independent commercial museum specialising in modern and contemporary arts that opened in Amsterdam in 2016 and then in 2021 opened an outlet in Barcelona. It’s now adding London as its third venue.

The local business development organisation supported the application, seeing it as adding to a growing cultural quarter in the Marble Arch area alongside the Wallace Collection and Frameless.

Kay Buxton, Chief Executive of Marble Arch London BID, said: “We are thrilled to see the plans for MOCO Marble Arch approved unanimously by Westminster Council. This is MOCO’s first venture outside the continent, and a huge vote of confidence in London and the West End.

“Marble Arch has become a magnet for culture and leisure operators following its transformation, with this investment by MOCO the latest boost. As one of the leading museums for modern, contemporary and street art, MOCO will be bringing iconic works to London for the first time.

“We are very much looking forward to MOCO’s big reveal at Marble Arch in 2024.”

When it opens, the ground floor will be given over to the “modern masters”, with “contemporary masters” and a temporary exhibition space on the first floor. The basement, appropriately for a space without any windows, will be for digital artists.

The Moco museum is expected to be open from 9am to 9pm every day, although ticket prices haven’t been announced yet, it will have a capacity of 430 visitors and 45 staff.