Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

What Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library does

The Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library is a public cultural institution operated by Preston City Council and housed in a Grade I listed building in Market Square, Preston, Lancashire (founded 1893 via an £300,000 bequest by Edmund Robert Harris). It runs a three-floor combined museum, art gallery, and lending/reference library with multiple gallery spaces (Gallery One, Two, Three, Discover Preston Gallery, Special Collections Gallery), the Harris Library at the Guild Hall, a café, a shop, and dedicated youth facilities. Permanent collection highlights include the most extensive UK collection of Horrockses Fashions, the John Forbes Watson 'Textile Manufacturers of India' volumes, and the Somerscales Egyptian Balcony murals (1908). The institution maintains roughly 24 employees, serves as a free-entry public venue, and operates a freemium pricing model where general admission is free and monetisation comes from Friends of the Harris memberships (from £25/year), venue hire (Reading Room weddings for up to 100 guests), paid workshops and life-drawing sessions (pay-what-you-can), event tickets, café and shop retail, and donations through an independent support charity (Friends of the Harris, registered charity no. 503726).

The business model blends public-sector subsidy with self-generated trading and grant-funded project income. Revenue streams include recurring memberships, transactional venue hire, retail sales (online and on-site), ticketed events, and donations; capital projects are funded through external grants, including a £4.5m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant and UK Government Towns Fund support for the £16m Harris Your Place regeneration. Distribution is primarily through the physical Preston flagship and the Guild Hall library branch, supplemented by the Bloomberg Connects mobile app for virtual collection access, an online shop, and the MET mobile event tent deployed across Preston. Strategic positioning centres on a hybrid GTM approach: direct-to-consumer visitor traffic (general public, schools, young people, wedding clients), plus a deep partnership ecosystem with the Courtauld, UAL Decolonising Arts Institute, Arts Council England, IWM, Birley Studios, Grundy Art Gallery, Gallery Oldham, Contemporary Art Society, and others.

The entity is currently in a major transformation cycle (the Harris Your Place project) running from 2022 with planned reopening in September 2025, intended to add a new Creative Preston Gallery, Children's Space, Young People's Zone, and a re-opened Lancaster Road entrance, projected to draw approximately 100,000 additional visitors annually. Marketing channels include monthly email newsletters, active social profiles on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, plus PR, community outreach, and school partnerships. Recent programming includes the Encounter Festival (~50,000 attendees in 2023), high-profile acquisitions (Kingfisher Couture's Rose Dress), commissioned artworks (Khaled Hafez via the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund), and residencies (the 20/20 project with UAL). The organisation is shortlisted in two categories at the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2027.

Name

Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

Legal name

The Harris Museum Art Gallery and Library

Website

https://theharris.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1893

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library is a Grade I listed public museum, art gallery, and library in Preston, UK, operated by Preston City Council. It offers free exhibitions, library services, educational programmes, weddings and venue hire, and community events for the general public, schools, and young people.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Cultural Institution (Museum, Art Gallery and Library)

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Public museum services
• Art gallery exhibitions
• Public library services
• Heritage venue hire
• Community arts programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Preston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Membership: The Friends of the Harris charity collects donations and membership fees from supporters. The Friends of the Harris is registered as charity no. 503726. Membership costs from £25 per year.
2. Venue Hire: The Harris offers venue hire services for weddings and events, with The Reading Room available for wedding ceremonies seating up to 100 guests. Additional services include photography on The Harris Balcony and Egyptian Balcony, welcome signage, and post-ceremony refreshments.
3. Retail Sales: The Harris operates a gift shop selling books, toys, gifts, and souvenirs for children and adults. Items can be purchased at the welcome desk or through the online shop.
4. Café Operations: The Harris Café sells food and both cold and hot drinks to visitors.
5. Event Tickets: Some events require tickets including workshops, masterclasses, and life drawing sessions. Tickets can be purchased from the welcome desk or through Visit Preston booking system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Harris is a free-entry public cultural institution housed in a Grade I listed building in Preston, Lancashire, offering museum exhibitions (including the UK's most extensive Horrockses Fashions collection), art gallery displays across multiple galleries, and a public lending library. The institution operates as a community arts hub with additional revenue-generating services including venue hire for weddings, a gift shop, café, youth programming (No.9 for ages 14-26), and event ticketing. The Harris Your Place transformation project (multi-million pound refurbishment funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and UK Government Towns Fund) is reimagining the venue for future generations.

Product overview

The Harris is a cultural institution comprising a museum, art gallery, and public library housed in a Grade I listed building. The core offering includes permanent collections and rotating temporary exhibitions across multiple gallery spaces (Gallery One, Two, and Three, Discover Preston Gallery, Special Collections Gallery). Supporting facilities include The Library with Family Library and Reference Library sections, digital access via Bloomberg Connects app and virtual tours, event spaces (The Studio, The Hub, The Reading Room for weddings), and visitor amenities (The Harris Café, The Harris Shop). Youth programming features No.9 space for ages 14-26, Harris Kids activities, and monthly young people's workshops. Community engagement includes venue hire for weddings and events, Friends of the Harris membership, volunteering, and arts development initiatives. The ongoing Harris Your Place transformation project will refresh the building and create new community spaces. The museum also partners with external venues for the MET mobile event tent and Encounter Festival, and maintains academic partnerships with Courtauld and UAL for residency and exhibition programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Friends of the Harris: Independent registered charity (no. 503726) that supports The Harris through donations and membership.

Products and services

• The Harris Museum and Art Gallery A Grade I listed cultural institution in Preston offering free entry to view collections of art, museum objects, and historical exhibitions across multiple galleries. Houses the UK's most extensive Horrockses Fashions collection and historic textile volumes.
• The Harris Library Public library services including adult lending, family library, reference library, and special collections with reading facilities. The Harris Library at Guild Hall operates Monday to Saturday, 9:00am to 5:00pm.
• Gallery One - Major Exhibition Space

Quantifiable outcome

• Projected 100,000 additional visitors annually after Harris Your Place transformation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• The Courtauld (Courtauld Gallery)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Ongoing collaboration as part of the Courtauld National Partners Programme since 2019, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Includes loans of artworks from collections, work with schools and colleges, and a volunteer programme focused on art history and the industrial heritage of Courtaulds Ltd textiles manufacturers. The partnership aims to develop learning and knowledge about art history in Preston.
• Preston City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Harris is part of Preston City Council. The council provides strategic support, funding through the Towns Fund, and integration with the Preston Model of cultural and economic development.
• UAL Decolonising Arts InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed the 20/20 project, an ambitious 3-year programme supporting 20 emerging ethnically diverse artists of colour to take up residencies with 20 UK public art collections, resulting in 20 new permanent acquisitions. The Harris is working with artist Hannah Sabapathy through this programme.
• Imperial War Museums (IWM) 14-18 NOW Legacy FundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the commission of Khaled Hafez for a new artwork exploring shared histories between Egypt and the UK, displayed on The Harris main staircase. Partnership exploring connections between Preston and Egypt through the Egyptian Balcony.
• Gallery OldhamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in collaboration with The Harris and Grundy Art Gallery for a programme exploring artist and suffragist Patti Mayor. Five Harris collection paintings were loaned for exhibition at Gallery Oldham during the Harris Your Place project closure.
• Grundy Art GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in collaboration with The Harris and Gallery Oldham for Patti Mayor exhibitions. Also leads The pARTnership project working with learning disabled artists in Blackpool, with work exhibited at The Harris.
• The Birley StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist-led organisation and studio complex home to 29 practitioners, partnering with The Harris for The Birley Exhibition showcasing six contemporary artists responding to works in The Harris collection.
• Preston PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped The MET (Mobile Event Tent) with Preston City Council, providing an adaptable venue that can pop up around the city for events and activities.
• UCLan (University of Central Lancashire)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner through In Certain Places research centre within UCLan's School of Arts and Media for The MET mobile venue development.
• Strive 2 Thrive Lancashire CICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreston-based social enterprise leading community facilitation of The MET for 2023 and 2024, supporting the mobile event tent's community engagement programmes.
• Contemporary Art SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresented works by Emma Prempeh to The Harris collection, including '1936' and 'It's the People That Make a Home' exploring identity, heritage, and belonging.
• Eric KnowlesminorOthersAntiques Roadshow star backing the Harris Your Place fundraising campaign.
• Lubaina HimidminorOthersInternational artist and Preston resident supporting the Harris Your Place fundraising campaign.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tate Liverpool: A major publicly funded art gallery in Liverpool presenting modern and contemporary art exhibitions. Comparable as a North West England cultural institution offering free general admission, temporary exhibitions, and educational programming, though at a significantly larger scale and visitor profile.
• Walker Art Gallery: Liverpool's national gallery housing fine and decorative art collections, operated as part of National Museums Liverpool with free entry. Comparable as a regional publicly funded gallery with permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, and learning programmes.
• Manchester Art Gallery: Manchester's flagship public art gallery presenting historic and contemporary collections with free admission. Comparable as a North West regional publicly funded gallery with significant permanent collections, learning programmes, and venue hire offerings.

Regional players

• Laing Art Gallery: A publicly funded art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne (Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums) presenting British and international art with free admission. Comparable as a publicly funded regional gallery with permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, and learning programmes, though serving the North East rather than North West.
• MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art): A publicly funded contemporary art gallery in Middlesbrough presenting modern and contemporary art with free admission, learning programmes, and venue hire. Comparable as a publicly funded regional gallery with similar audience development and educational programming missions, though serving the North East.

Direct peers

• Leeds Art Gallery: A publicly funded art gallery in Leeds with significant 20th-century British art holdings and free admission. Comparable as a Yorkshire/Northern England publicly funded gallery offering permanent collections, temporary exhibitions, and educational programming.
• The Whitworth: A public art gallery in Manchester operating as part of the University of Manchester, combining gallery, exhibition, and learning programming. Directly comparable as a North West England publicly funded gallery with free admission, community programming, and a focus on textiles and design collections.
• Gallery Oldham: A publicly funded gallery and museum in Oldham presenting art, social history, and natural history collections with free admission. Directly comparable as a Greater Manchester publicly funded gallery collaborating with The Harris on collection loans and exhibition programming.
• The Hepworth Wakefield: A publicly funded gallery in Wakefield presenting modern and contemporary art with free admission and major temporary exhibitions. Comparable as a UK regional publicly funded gallery focused on art programming, learning, and visitor engagement, with venue hire and a café/shop retail mix.
• Grundy Art Gallery: A publicly funded contemporary art gallery in Blackpool offering free exhibitions, learning programmes, and community engagement. Comparable as a North West publicly funded cultural venue partnering with The Harris on collaborative programming (Patti Mayor exhibitions, pARTnership project).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HarrisPreston
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCufj0UfkOg5xYPOuQnLgkHw
• Facebookfacebook.com/HarrisMuseumandArtGallery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harris-museum-art-gallery-library
• Instagraminstagram.com/harris_museum

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library