Henry Moore Institute Leeds: The 'innovative' gallery that's welcomed more than one million visitors

Part of the Henry Moore Foundation, the centre for the study of sculpture has an art gallery and research library that is open to all. While the Institute rarely displays any work by its founder, its existence is inspired by Henry Moore’s desire to give people in Leeds access to sculpture.

Since the Institute opened in The Headrow on April 21 1993, it has featured the work of more than 730 artists from around the world in 224 free exhibitions. It has hosted 140 visiting research fellows, bought more than 30,000 books, publications, journals, audio-visual resources and ephemera for its Sculpture Research Library, and made 700 acquisitions with Leeds City Council for the city’s sculpture collection.

Laurence Sillars, who heads up the Institute, said: “We are delighted to be taking some time to celebrate everything we have achieved as a specialist sculpture centre over the last 30 years. From the artists we have supported at the very beginnings of their careers, our innovative approach to presenting and interpreting contemporary art, to the critical research we’ve enabled. Plus, crucially, all the people who have been through our doors and have discovered something new because of us. It’s a real privilege to build on Henry Moore’s legacy and continue to contribute to the city’s cultural offer by giving the people of Leeds free access to world-class sculpture.”

The 30th anniversary celebrations include A Site for Sculpture: Building the Institute – a display featuring photographs, publications and ephemera that is open to the public in the Sculpture Research Library until July 7. The facade of the building has also been decorated to mark the occasion with a new design commission stating the words: “Three decades of being in the moment. Open to you since 1993.”

Meanwhile, a creative competition invites anyone to imaginatively make over the building as part of the Institute’s engagement programme. Cards will be available in the Institute for people to draw, paint, stick or print to show how they would redesign the black granite façade of the building. There will be prizes in different age groups – 11 years and under, 12–17 years and 18 plus – for the best entries.