The Harris Today
The Harris Today
The Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library, known as The Harris, is managed by Preston City Council. We are proud guardians of our founders’ intention, inscribed on the outside of the building which states that: ‘The mental riches you may here acquire abide with you always.’
Today, the Harris is recognised as one of the leading museums and contemporary art venues in the region.
We combine working closely with our local community with developing a national and international reputation for quality and innovative programmes.
We are a major tourist attraction, welcoming over 350,000 visitors annually.
The Harris is at a turning point in its history, developing the #HarrisYourPlace project to create the UK’s first blended museum, art gallery and library. Through the project we are bringing the museum and library together as a single service, developing community-led approaches to our programme and will deliver a major capital development by 2025.
Read about #HarrisYourPlace campaign
Our Victorian founders’ vision was that the Harris Free Library, Museum & Art Gallery would be the focus of culture, arts and learning, an embodiment of aspirations in late 19th century Preston. This can be seen in the inscription on the front of the building: ‘To Literature, Arts and Science’.
Our aim is to create a seamless, high-quality offer, with audience led museum, art gallery and library services and cultural activities presenting the Grade 1 listed building and its collections more effectively.
Early successes include increasing visitor figures, popular family-friendly exhibitions, an increasingly diverse events programme and Makerspace in partnership with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), a range of sold out live music events and becoming a founder member of the British Library’s Living Knowledge Network.
Our Vision
Lancashire is, and has been, a centre of innovation, and a place of making. The Harris will be at the centre of innovation and making to contribute to a sustainable future for the county and the city of Preston.
Mission
This exemplifies the spirit with which we intend to infuse a reimagined Harris. We will invite everyone to celebrate our creative and cultural past, present and future. Amid unprecedented change and pressures in the context and landscape within which the Harris operates, we are setting out to create an asset that will best serve our 21st century audiences, assist significantly with the future growth of Preston as a city, and respond to the moving landscape of public funding.
Our collections
The Harris collections are among the finest in the region and include objects of national significance.
The collections include over 70,000 objects. Increasing and recording knowledge about the collections is fundamental to our work. We work in partnership with other museums, universities and specialists, employing the latest scientific techniques to uncover the stories behind our objects, for instance to discover details of the origins of ancient human skulls uncovered during the 19th Century Preston Dock excavations.
The Harris Collection includes:
- Fine Art – paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints
- Costume and textiles
- Ceramics and glass
- Contemporary Art – paintings, textiles, sculpture and digital media
- Digital media
- History – Preston and beyond
- Archaeology
- Historic books
Contemporary Art at the Harris
The Harris has a strong reputation for contemporary art programming including commissioning new work, showing digital media and work from nationally- and internationally-recognised artists. It’s not just about established artists though. We also want to nurture the next generation of talent, by providing a platform for local, emerging artists to exhibit their work in a dedicated space, perhaps for their first time.
