THE city centre home of Modern Art Oxford is to have a £250,000 facelift.

Work is shortly to start on a project that will create a dramatic new entrance into the gallery from St Ebbe’s Street.

The scheme will see the yard turned into a new art and social space for the Oxford arts centre.

The gallery says the redevelopment will create a more prominent and flexible ground-floor gallery, and allow for a permanent project space in the museum’s basement for talks, music and other events. The work will close the building from March 8-April 16.

MAO was awarded a £630,000 grant from Arts Council England’s Sustain programme in August last year and says the cost of the work will be covered by part of the Sustain grant, to support arts organisations.

Under the plan, MAO says the cafe will become more “fully integrated with the life of the gallery”.

MAO director Michael Stanley said: “Creating stronger visibility on St Ebbe’s, improving access, extending opening hours and enhancing our evening programme with music, film and performance will reinforce Modern Art Oxford’s role as the centre for contemporary culture in Oxford.”

It is viewed as a contemporary take on the idea of a 19th century arcade “to bring the street into the gallery and the gallery into the street”.