Annual Report 2022–23

Shaping our local and national cultural landscape with ground-breaking exhibitions and events.

Brontës bring national interest (Strategic priority 16)

A national collaboration with the British Library and the Brontë Parsonage Museum produced a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of Brontë artefacts in the Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, drawing in new audiences:

• 7,373 visitors to Brontë exhibition
• 3/4 were first-time visitors (75%)
• 87% rated it Very Good.

Raising the reputation of the University of Leeds as a cultural hub with national press coverage 

The Times, The Guardian, and BBC.
8 national and 15 regional stories.

Unique opportunities for education and research

Our Special Collections offer unique research opportunities for students, staff and external scholars:

• 742 visitors to Special Collections, visiting over 1,000 times
• 8,506 manuscripts and books consulted
• 108 teaching sessions facilitated.

Enhancing student experience with collections:

• Media & Comms MA module now asks students to create digital outputs from historic data sources.
• History core module has expanded the source list to include art, coins and textiles.

Cultural experiences to connect hearts and minds

• 21,748 visitors to The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, up 293% from last year.
• 14,489 Visits to Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, up 263%.
• 99% of Galleries visitors said their experience was good or very good.

Increasing student engagement with our cultural collections

• Over 100 students attended Museum and Mocktails (more than 7x higher than previous, similar events).
• 8/10 students said they enjoyed Museums and Mocktails a lot.

Our cultural impact stretches beyond the University and around the world: 36,237 views of our Google Arts exhibition.

Visit England award

Our Galleries are the one and only Hidden Gem in Yorkshire.

Hidden Gem award received from Visit England

These accolades are a testament to the outstanding experiences and customer service that attractions in England give visitors. The attractions honoured today go out of their way to make visits memorable, creating reasons for people to travel to new locations, also boosting local economies across England.

Read more about our strategic priorities in the Libraries vision for 2030: Knowledge for All.