The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

What The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art does

The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art is a private museum located at 119 S. Main Street (Concourse Level) in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1998 by local entrepreneurs Jack A. Belz and his wife Marilyn, the institution grew out of the Belz family's private art collection, which they began assembling in 1968 and which is described as the largest private collection of Asian art in the United States. The museum occupies 14,000 square feet of exhibition space across three permanent galleries (the Main Gallery with Judaic Section, the Tusk Gallery, and the Imperial Retreat Gallery), plus a Holocaust Memorial Gallery added in 2014, and holds approximately 1,000 to 1,400 objects spanning 2,500 years, including one of the largest jade collections in the country.

The museum generates revenue from multiple ticket- and rental-based streams: individual general admission ($4-$6), guided group tours ($4.50 per person), the Emperor's Lunch and Tour package ($20 per person), virtual Direct School Tours ($50 flat fee), special after-hours events such as Night at The Museum ($5-$6), and Dynasty Room private event rentals ($250 for morning slots to $750 for evening events). It also operates a small gift shop. Distribution is conducted entirely through physical visitation and direct phone/email bookings, with no e-commerce or online ticketing platform; payment was reportedly cash-only as of November 2025 due to unspecified technical issues.

The museum's primary customer segments are general tourists (notably out-of-town visitors discovering it as a 'hidden gem' of Memphis), school groups (explicitly described as the institution's 'bread and butter'), and corporate and private event organizers booking the Dynasty Room. Marketing relies on the belzmuseum.org website, social media (Twitter and Instagram), press coverage, visitor reviews, and community programming including partnerships with other Memphis cultural institutions such as Brooks Museum and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

Name

The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Legal name

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Website

https://belzmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art is a private Memphis museum founded in 1998 exhibiting one of the largest jade collections in the U.S. alongside Judaic art. It serves tourists, school groups, and corporate clients through admissions, guided tours, and Dynasty Room venue rentals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum and Art Gallery

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

akta.pro primary industry

Art Museums (THAJADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH), Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops (CRALAJAG)

Keywords

• Art museum exhibitions
• Guided museum tours
• Private event venue
• Cultural educational programs
• Asian judaic collections

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, Others

Revenue model

1. General Admission: The museum charges admission fees to individual visitors for access to the galleries and permanent collections. Standard admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, $4 for students, with children under 5 admitted free.
2. Group and Student Tours: The museum generates revenue from guided group tours priced at $4.50 per person for both adult and student groups (up to 30 people), with teachers and bus drivers admitted free.
3. Dynasty Room Event Rentals: The museum's Dynasty Room is rented out for private events including corporate gatherings, receptions, dinners, and parties. Pricing ranges from $250 for morning rentals to $750 for evening events, with additional security fees for overtime.
4. Emperor's Lunch and Tour Package: A bundled offering combining museum tours with catered boxed lunches and drinks for $20 per person, providing an enhanced visitor experience with dining included.
5. After Hours Events: Special evening events like Night at The Museum feature discounted admission ($5-$6) with wine, cheese, and sweet treats, targeting adult audiences aged 21+ for additional revenue during non-standard hours.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art is a private, foundation-operated museum in Memphis, TN that provides admission-based public access to the Belz family's collection of Asian and Judaic art across a 14,000 square foot facility. Its commercial offerings include individual museum admission, guided tours, group tours, school educational tours, private event venue rentals in the Dynasty Room, specialty programs such as Night at The Museum, and a museum gift shop.

Product overview

The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art is a cultural institution offering museum admission to its permanent galleries, guided and group tours, educational programs, and event venue rental. The museum's core offerings include admission to three permanent exhibit galleries (Main Gallery with Judaic Section, Tusk Gallery, and Imperial Retreat Gallery) showcasing jade sculptures, Asian art from the Qing Dynasty, ivory, and Judaic art. Revenue-generating services include various tour options (Guided Tours, Group Tours, Emperor's Lunch and Tour, Direct School Tours), private event rental of the Dynasty Room, and special events like Night at The Museum. The museum also maintains a gift shop and provides educational resources for school groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Admission

Quantifiable outcome

• Attendance jumped 21 percent in 2014, attributed to improved visibility and electronic media marketing
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brooks MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 January 2025Joint Lunar New Year Celebration event partnership with Brooks Museum at their location (1934 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN). The event featured free food, activities, and live performances including Sacred Heart Lion Dancers. This collaboration brings together two Memphis cultural institutions for community cultural programming.
• Tennessee Holocaust CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014The Tennessee Holocaust Commission connected the museum with Holocaust survivors from Shelby County, many of whom have since died but were generous with their donations to the museum. This partnership led to the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Gallery in 2014, occupying two rooms focusing on the torture and annihilation of victims and the accomplishments of survivors.
• Pink Palace MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1995In 1995, Jack Belz donated some of their collection for a temporary exhibition at the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis. This was part of a complementary exhibit to the Wonders: Imperial Tombs of China exhibition at the Cook Convention Center. This exhibition sparked the idea for creating a permanent museum.
• Christie's of LondonminorOthersThe Belzes worked with Christie's of London as a safe source for acquiring art pieces, given their reputation and connection with larger reputable museums including the British Museum. This relationship helped establish the provenance and authenticity of their collection.
• Orpheum TheaterminorOthersOrpheum Theater allows buses to park on their lot for museum visitors, providing convenient parking arrangements for school groups arriving by bus.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Metropolitan Museum of Art: The largest U.S. art museum with extensive Asian and Judaic wings. While operating at vastly different scale, its Asian art galleries and Judaica collection represent the broader competitive context for Belz's curatorial niche.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (Freer|Sackler): Premier U.S. institution for Asian art, with comparable collections of jade, Chinese pottery, and Asian antiquities. Operates as a broader institution with significantly more resources, but represents the benchmark category leader for Asian art curation.

Direct peers

• Skirball Cultural Center: Los Angeles Jewish cultural center with permanent galleries, educational programming, and event venue rentals. Conceptually parallel in combining Judaic art/historical exhibits with private event capacity and school outreach.
• The Jewish Museum: New York's flagship Judaic art and culture museum, comparable in curatorial focus on Judaic art, Holocaust-related content, and cross-cultural exhibitions. Represents the larger-market parallel to Belz's Judaic section.
• Asia Society Museum: New York-based museum dedicated to Asian art and culture, with a comparable focus on traditional and contemporary Asian art exhibitions. Directly competitive in the Asian art education space, though operating at much larger scale.
• Memphis Brooks Museum of Art: Memphis's flagship art museum and the Belz Museum's primary local programming partner. Both serve cultural tourism in Memphis, share overlapping audiences, and have already co-hosted joint events like the Lunar New Year Celebration, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Museum of Chinese in America: New York-based museum preserving and interpreting Chinese American history and culture. Comparable in its dual focus on Asian art and broader cultural/educational programming for diverse audiences.
• National Civil Rights Museum: Another Downtown Memphis cultural institution focused on history and social education, drawing both school groups and tourists. Comparable in mission-driven educational programming and group tour pricing model.
• Pink Palace Museum: Memphis regional museum where Jack Belz first exhibited items from the collection in 1995, an event that catalyzed the founding of Belz Museum. Similar scale, Mid-South audience, and hands-on educational programming model.

Others

• Tennessee Holocaust Commission: State-level partner organization that connected Belz Museum with Holocaust survivors. While not a museum itself, it operates adjacent educational programming about the Holocaust and serves as a meaningful ecosystem partner and indirect peer in Judaic heritage education.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/BelzMuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/belzmuseum.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/belzmuseum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 The Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art