Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Name

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Legal name

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Website

https://brooksmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1916

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Art Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA), Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG)

Keywords

• Art museum exhibitions
• Visual arts education
• Museum venue rentals
• Museum membership programs
• Permanent collection curation

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership (Art Club): Annual/multi-year memberships providing unlimited free admission, event access, store/cafe discounts, and reciprocal benefits at 200+ museums. Managed through Art Club program with monthly or annual payment options.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donors support the museum through various giving programs including general donations, endowment gifts, planned giving, and tribute gifts. Less than 12% of budget comes from government funding.
3. Event Venue Rental: The museum rents spaces for weddings, corporate events, holiday parties, board meetings, and receptions. Spaces include the Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium (seats 250), Terrace Room, Holly Court, Dunavant Rotunda, Art Garden, and Board Room.
4. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate partners support exhibitions, education programs, and events. Sponsors include First Horizon Foundation, McEniry Family Foundation, Cigna, Martin Family Foundation, and others for school tours.
5. Endowment Income: Gifts to the endowment provide permanent income for operating needs. The museum separated from the city in 1989 and maintains private status with endowment growth under leadership.
6. Image Licensing: The museum charges licensing fees for high-resolution images of artworks in the permanent collection to fund ongoing collection care efforts.
7. Museum Store and Cafe: On-site museum store and cafe generate revenue from retail merchandise and food/beverage sales. Cafe open Wednesday through Sunday with no museum ticket required.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art operates a permanent art museum that curates, exhibits, and interprets a collection of over 10,000 works spanning antiquity to the present across 29 galleries. It sells timed general admission tickets, offers docent-led and self-guided school and group tours, and runs educational and public programs including Super Saturdays, summer art camps for ages 5-14, adult art classes, and curated music, fashion, food-and-wine, and figure-drawing events. Additional revenue-generating offerings include the Art Club membership program, venue rentals for weddings and corporate events, an on-site cafe and museum store, and image licensing of collection works.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Admission Tickets Timed general admission tickets for access to the museum's galleries, exhibitions, and permanent collection. Adult $18, seniors 55+ $15, students $10 with valid ID, youth 5-17 $10, children under 5 free. Free every Saturday 10a-12p and year-round for active duty military, National Guard, Reserve, and families via Blue Star Museums. Groups of 10+ receive a $3 discount per ticket.
• Guided School Tours Docent-led focused tours of the museum's collection or special exhibitions for Pre-K-12 student groups, with optional hands-on studio art activities and a family pass for a return visit. Advanced reservations through the Tour Coordinator.
• Self-Guided School and Group Tours Teacher- or parent-led gallery exploration using gallery guides available at the Visitor Services desk. Maximum 40 students per group with required adult supervision ratios.
• Super Saturday Free weekly drop-in art-making program for all ages, held every Saturday from 10 AM to 12 PM.
• Brooks Summer Arts Camp Weeklong art camps for children ages 5-14 featuring gallery exploration, studio projects, and active play. Held Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with extended childcare available.
• Art Making Classes for Adults Adult art education classes including Figure Drawing, Flower Arranging, Candle Making, and eclectic workshops for all skill levels.
• Figure Drawing Sessions Life-drawing series offering nude, clothed, and long-pose sessions, with gesture drills and extended study poses for artists of all levels.
• Talks and Presentations Evening programs including Art Club events and Curator Talks with beverages and art education.
• Music Program Curated concert season featuring jazz, classical, cross-genre collaborations, and site-specific commissions connecting sound and visual art.
• Fashion Program Fashion exhibitions and events including catwalks, sewing workshops, and artist interviews.
• Food and Wine Events Wine tastings and culinary events founded on appreciation of world culinary culture.
• Art Club Membership Annual and multi-year museum membership offering unlimited free admission, first access to 400+ events, exclusive invites, store and cafe discounts, free coffee in the cafe, and reciprocal membership at 200+ museums worldwide.
• Venue Rentals Rental of museum event spaces for corporate functions, board meetings, receptions, and private events: Terrace Room (1,400 sqft), Dorothy K. Hohenberg Auditorium (250 seats), Holly Court (3,650 sqft), Dunavant Rotunda (3,600 sqft), Art Garden (6,200+ sqft), and Board Room (750 sqft).
• Wedding Services Wedding ceremonies, vow renewals, receptions, and intimate celebrations, with venue options accommodating 25+ guests across indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Museum Café On-site café open Wednesday through Sunday serving locally roasted coffee, fresh pastries, and other food and beverages, with indoor and patio seating. Available without museum admission.
• Museum Store On-site gift shop and online store offering museum merchandise and art-related items (brooksmuseum.myshopify.com).
• Audio Guides Free iTouch audio guides available at the Visitor Services desk, providing interpretive programming about selected galleries in English and Spanish. Recommended for visitors ages 12+.
• Image Licensing and Registrar Services Licensing of high-resolution images of works in the permanent collection, free low-resolution images for educational and scholarly use, copyright guidance, and provenance research services from the Registrar's Office.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 12,000 children participate in free school tours annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arts Council KoreacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025International partnership enabling the museum's first international exhibition held in Seoul, Korea in October 2025. This cultural exchange enables Memphis artists and stories to reach international audiences while bringing global perspectives back to Memphis.
• Tennessee Arts CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState arts commission offering Student Ticket Subsidy Program grants that cover bus transportation costs for schools visiting the museum for guided tours. Revenue from specialty license plate sales is primary funding source for TN Arts Commission grant programs.
• KultureCityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to improve accommodation for guests with sensory processing needs. Provides weighted lap pads, sensory bags with KCVIP badges, fidget tools, noise canceling headphones, and the KultureCity All-Inclusive App for social stories.
• Art Bridges FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation supporting collaborative exhibitions organized by a cohort of Southeastern art museums drawing from their respective collections. Enables shared programming and expanded access to art.
• National Civil Rights MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to oversee digitization, archiving, and care of the Hooks Brothers Photographic Archive. Supported by Mellon Foundation funding. Deepens connection between civil rights history and cultural preservation.
• Decorative Arts TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport group representing membership that has played a major role since 1985 in building a world-class decorative arts complement to the fine art collection. Ex-officio board representation provided.
• Blue Star MuseumscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerNational partnership among National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, Joining Forces, and MetLife Foundation providing free museum admission for active duty, National Guard, Reserve military personnel and their families all year long.
• First Horizon FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor supporting free school tours at the museum, enabling educational access for students.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Frist Art Museum: Nashville-based nonprofit art museum offering general admission exhibitions, education programs, and event rentals. Highly comparable as a Tennessee-based regional art museum with comparable collection scale, programming breadth, and venue rental revenue mix.
• Speed Art Museum: Louisville's encyclopedic art museum with permanent collection, special exhibitions, and education programs. Comparable as a regional art museum of similar size and mission serving a mid-size Southern U.S. city.
• Cheekwood Estate & Gardens: Nashville arts institution combining a museum with gardens, weddings, and event rentals. Comparable to Brooks as a Tennessee nonprofit cultural venue operating admissions, memberships, private events, and educational programming.
• Birmingham Museum of Art: Major regional art museum in Birmingham, Alabama with encyclopedic collection, K-12 school tour programming, and free general admission policy. Closely comparable in collection scope and educational programming footprint.
• New Orleans Museum of Art: New Orleans-based encyclopedic fine arts museum with permanent collection, educational programs, and venue rentals. Comparable in scale, mission, and Southern U.S. regional positioning.
• Dixon Gallery & Gardens: Memphis-based fine arts museum featuring an art collection and garden setting with free admission. Directly comparable as a same-city art museum with shared market, donor pool, and educational mission.

Broad incumbents

• High Museum of Art: Atlanta's leading art museum and a major Southeastern regional art institution. Comparable as a larger art museum in the same geographic region with similar educational programming and corporate sponsorship model.
• Tennessee State Museum: State-operated museum in Nashville presenting Tennessee history, art, and culture. Comparable as a Tennessee museum operator with educational programs and free admission, though state-owned rather than private nonprofit.

Others

• Art Bridges Foundation: National arts foundation and direct partner of Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, supporting collaborative exhibitions among Southeastern art museums. Relevant ecosystem partner rather than direct competitor.

Regional players

• National Civil Rights Museum: Memphis-based cultural and historical museum that is a formal partner of Brooks on the Hooks Brothers Photographic Archive. Comparable as a same-city Memphis museum operation with overlapping donor and visitor base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brooksmuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ5CZL3yK5bLOXH3xT5V9jA
• Facebookfacebook.com/brooksmuseum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brooks-museum-of-art
• Instagraminstagram.com/brooksmemphis
• TikToktiktok.com/@brooksmemphis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Memphis Brooks Museum of Art