Shaker Museum
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1950
- HeadquartersChatham, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Shaker Museum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Shaker Museum
- Legal name
- Shaker Museum
- Website
- https://shakermuseum.us
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1950
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Shaker Museum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Museum & Cultural Heritage Institution
- NAICS
- Museums (712110), Historical Sites (712120)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Art Museums (THAJADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)
Keywords
Where Shaker Museum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chatham
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Shaker Museum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Memberships: Annual membership program offering benefits including exclusive tours, early access to exhibitions, and other perks.
- Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and capital campaign contributions.
- Foundation Grants: Major grants from foundations including Henry Luce Foundation, NYSCA, NEH, and others supporting construction and operations.
- Merchandise Sales: General Store selling notecards, books, textiles, handcrafted items, design objects, and accessories curated by artists.
- Event Tickets: Ticket sales for special events, lectures, performances, and film screenings.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Special event tickets |
| Subscription | Annual | Museum membership |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Shaker Museum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Shaker Museum preserves, studies, and presents the world's most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture—more than 18,000 objects—through exhibitions at its own facilities and at partner museums, a free searchable online collections database, historic site tours at the Mount Lebanon National Historic Landmark, a research library and archives, members-only behind-the-scenes collection tours, and a curated General Store selling books, textiles, and design objects. The museum also develops traveling exhibitions (such as "The Shakers: A World in the Making") and pop-up exhibitions curated by contemporary artists, while constructing a new permanent facility in downtown Chatham, NY designed by Selldorf Architects for a planned 2028 opening.
Product overview
Shaker Museum operates as a museum institution offering a unified portfolio of heritage preservation and public access services centered on Shaker material culture and archives. The core offerings include an online collections database providing searchable access to over 18,000 objects, rotating exhibitions (both at the museum and through pop-up locations), access to the historic Mount Lebanon Shaker site, and a research library. The museum's main products include traveling exhibitions like 'The Shakers: A World in the Making' and 'Maira Kalman's Shaker Outpost,' members-only tours and programs, and an upcoming permanent facility designed by Selldorf Architects opening in 2028.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Annual Membership Program Annual subscription program offering members exclusive benefits including behind-the-scenes tours of collections storage and library facilities, early access to exhibitions, and other perks. Available to individuals interested in supporting the museum.
- Online Collections Database Free searchable digital database providing public access to view over 18,000 objects in Shaker Museum's collection, including furniture, costume, archives, and photographs. Accessible globally online.
- Mount Lebanon Historic Site Tours Historic site comprising 10 original Shaker buildings on 91 acres at the North Family of Mount Lebanon, including grounds, North Pasture trail, and meadow areas open for guided and self-guided visitor tours year-round. Designated National Historic Landmark in 1965.
- The Shakers: A World in the Making Exhibition Major traveling exhibition exploring the resonance of Shaker design, bringing together Shaker furniture, architectural elements, tools, and commercial goods paired with newly commissioned works by contemporary artists and designers. Features more than 150 original objects.
- Maira Kalman's Shaker Outpost: Design, Commerce, and Culture Pop-up exhibition featuring artist Maira Kalman curating her favorite pieces from the museum collections alongside new paintings, complemented by the General Store offering notecards, books, textiles, handcrafted items, and local artisan products.
- Pop-Up Exhibitions Program Temporary exhibition program held at various locations including 4 Depot Square in Chatham, NY, and Kinderhook Knitting Mill, showcasing rotating themed exhibitions from the museum's collection.
- Research Library and Archives Comprehensive archival collection including documents, rare books, and historical materials accessible through the museum's library facility at 29 Jones Avenue, Chatham, NY.
- Members-Only Collections Tour Behind-the-scenes access to Shaker Museum's comprehensive collection of furniture, tools, costumes, and more. Limited to 10 participants per tour. Available exclusively to museum members.
- Members-Only Library Tour Behind-the-scenes access to the museum's archival documents, rare books, and library materials. Limited to 8 participants per tour. Available exclusively to museum members.
- Cradled Exhibition Experiential pop-up exhibition exploring the transcendent impact of the Shakers' communal embrace through objects, values, and modern artistic expression, curated by Frances McDormand and Suzanne Bocanegra.
- Special Event Tickets Ticket-based access to special events including lectures, film screenings, performances, and workshops held at museum locations, with tickets typically priced $25-$35.
- General Store Merchandise Curated retail store selling notecards, books, textiles, handcrafted items, design objects, and accessories selected by artist Maira Kalman, with proceeds benefiting the museum.
Quantifiable outcome
- 150+ original objects on loan to major international exhibitions
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Shaker Museum
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Shaker Museum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Shaker Museum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Institute of Contemporary Art PhiladelphiaflagshipSecond leg of 'The Shakers: A World in the Making' exhibition. Open January 31 through August 9, 2026. Features over 150 original objects on loan from Shaker Museum, paired with contemporary works.
- Maira KalmanflagshipArtist curating 'Shaker Outpost: Design, Commerce, and Culture' pop-up exhibition, selecting favorite pieces from collection and creating new paintings. Also curates General Store.
- Vitra Design MuseumflagshipCollaboration on 'The Shakers: A World in the Making' traveling exhibition. Opened at Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany in June 2025, featuring over 150 original objects. Exhibition designed by Milan studio Formafantasma.
- Milwaukee Art MuseumcorePartner in 'The Shakers: A World in the Making' traveling exhibition. Second domestic venue following Vitra Design Museum.
- Wüstenrot FoundationcoreCollaborative partner on 'The Shakers: A World in the Making' exhibition series.
- Frances McDormand and Suzanne BocanegraCurated 'Cradled' exhibition exploring Shakers' communal care values through objects and modern artistic expression. Exhibition traveled to Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles.
- Makers' CirclecoreAdvisory group of contemporary designers and artists including Emily Adams Bode, Ini Archibong, Nacho Carbonell, and others influencing evolving Shaker style.
- Selldorf ArchitectsflagshipAnnabelle Selldorf's firm designing new permanent museum facility in downtown Chatham, NY. Design embodies Shaker principles of simplicity, utility, and beauty. Also responsible for enhancement of The Frick Collection and National Gallery in London.
- Fordham UniversitycorePartnership on Theology program exploring Shaker Art, Design, and Religion, funded by $50,000 Henry Luce Foundation grant.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Shaker Museum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Frick Collection: A major New York City art museum with a renowned decorative arts collection, recently expanded through a Selldorf Architects-designed renovation. Comparable as a decorative-arts-focused museum whose recent capital project used the same architect (Selldorf) as Shaker Museum's new Chatham facility, providing direct architectural and programmatic comparison.
- Old Sturbridge Village: A large living history museum in Sturbridge, MA, depicting early 19th-century rural New England life. Comparable as a heritage/cultural institution operating a multi-building historic site with similar admissions, membership, and donor-driven revenue streams, though with broader scope than Shaker Museum's Shaker-specific focus.
- Clark Art Institute: A major art museum and research center in Williamstown, MA, with collections spanning European and American art. Comparable as a small-to-mid-sized Northeast cultural institution operating historic buildings, a research library, and traveling exhibitions with a similar donor-and-grant-driven operating model.
- Historic Deerfield: A museum of New England history and decorative arts in Deerfield, MA, with a campus of historic houses and a significant decorative arts collection. Comparable as a small, collection-focused cultural institution with similar operating model (admissions, memberships, museum shop, scholarly programming) and donor base.
Direct peers
- Norman Rockwell Museum: A small, themed art museum in Stockbridge, MA, dedicated to the work of Norman Rockwell with the world's most comprehensive collection of his art. Direct peer as a small-museum operator with a single-artist/single-subject focus, similar revenue model (admissions, memberships, retail), and comparable scale to Shaker Museum.
- Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village: The last active Shaker community in the world, located in New Gloucester, ME, with a museum component preserving Shaker buildings, artifacts, and archives. Direct peer in Shaker subject matter and small-museum operating model, though with a much smaller scale than Shaker Museum.
- Canterbury Shaker Village: A historic Shaker site in Canterbury, NH, operating as a museum and cultural institution with original Shaker buildings and collections. Direct peer operating in the same Shaker-heritage category with similar revenue model (admissions, memberships, donations, retail) and audience overlap with Shaker Museum.
- Hancock Shaker Village: A 750-acre living history museum in Pittsfield, MA, focused on the Shaker religious community and its material culture. Direct peer because it operates the same niche (Shaker heritage), competes for the same donor and visitor pool, and stewards historic Shaker buildings and collections comparable in subject matter to Shaker Museum.
Regional players
- Storm King Art Center: A 500-acre outdoor sculpture park and museum in New Windsor, NY, exhibiting large-scale contemporary sculpture. Comparable as an upstate New York cultural institution with a significant land footprint, donor-driven operating model, and overlap in the design/art audience that Shaker Museum's contemporary programming (Makers' Circle, Shaker Outpost) targets.
- The Farmers' Museum: A regional heritage museum in Cooperstown, NY, focused on rural and agricultural life in upstate New York. Comparable as a similarly sized upstate New York cultural institution with a heritage and material culture focus, competing for regional visitor traffic and donor support.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Shaker Museum social profiles
Digital presenceShaker Museum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Shaker Museum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Shaker Museum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Shaker Museum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Shaker Museum
What does Shaker Museum do?
Shaker Museum preserves, studies, and presents the world's most comprehensive collection of Shaker material culture—more than 18,000 objects—through exhibitions at its own facilities and at partner museums, a free searchable online collections database, historic site tours at the Mount Lebanon National Historic Landmark, a research library and archives, members-only behind-the-scenes collection tours, and a curated General Store selling books, textiles, and design objects. The museum also develops traveling exhibitions (such as "The Shakers: A World in the Making") and pop-up exhibitions curated by contemporary artists, while constructing a new permanent facility in downtown Chatham, NY designed by Selldorf Architects for a planned 2028 opening.
Is Shaker Museum a public or private company?
Shaker Museum is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Shaker Museum founded?
Shaker Museum was founded in 1950. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Shaker Museum based?
Shaker Museum is headquartered in Chatham, United States, in the North America region.
How does Shaker Museum make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Memberships are the primary driver. The others are donations and Fundraising, foundation Grants, merchandise Sales and event Tickets.
Who are Shaker Museum's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Frick Collection, Old Sturbridge Village, Clark Art Institute and Historic Deerfield. Direct peers are Norman Rockwell Museum, Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Canterbury Shaker Village and Hancock Shaker Village. Regional players are Storm King Art Center and The Farmers' Museum.
Does Shaker Museum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Shaker Museum.
What industry is Shaker Museum in?
Shaker Museum's product category is Museum & Cultural Heritage Institution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJADAA, Art Museums, with a secondary code of CRALAJAG, Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops. Its NAICS code is 712110.