The shortlist for the UK’s Museum of the Year has been announced, bringing together a range of institutions which have recently gone through major revamps.
ADVERTISEMENTMuseums in Skipton, Dundee, Manchester join two London galleries in the running for the much-coveted Museum of the Year prize. Awarded by Art Fund, the winning museum will take away £120,000 (€140,000) with the other nominees getting £15,000 (€17,500).
Run since 2008 – as the Art Fund Prize until 2012 – winners have ranged from huge international institutions like the British Museum to smaller more regional galleries like the ever-impressive Hepworth in Wakefield.
Last year’s Museum of the Year winner was the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, which reopened in 2022 after an extensive six-year renovation to present its world-class 9,000-object collection including one of the most important collections of Chinese art in the UK.
This year’s nominees are no less impressive. To be announced at the National Gallery in London on 10 July, here’s the rundown of the 2024 shortlist:
Craven Museum – Skipton, North Yorkshire
Located in the small town of Skipton as part of the Yorkshire Dales, the Craven Museum is an amazing cultural hub embedded in the beautiful Skipton Town Hall. It has an exhibition space that includes its collection of objects that chart the history of Craven, the northern Medieval district, from prehistory to the modern day.
Alongside the exhibition space, the Craven Museum also features an historic concert hall and education and community spaces. First opened in 1928, it was closed in 2018 for a major refurbishment. The museum reopened in 2021 and has flourished ever since.
Dundee Contemporary Arts – Dundee
With its broad array of programmes, Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) is one of the best locations in Scotland to engage with the arts. The DCA complex houses space for exhibitions, a cinema, and learning centres.
In the past two years, DCA has showcased exhibitions from five contemporary artists, bringing painting, sculpture, moving image and installations to its spaces. It also housed Art Nights Dundee, one of the biggest major contemporary art festivals to be held outside of London, attracting 15,000 visitors.
Manchester Museum – Manchester
Another one of the recently renovated museums on the list. The 130-year-old museum housed within the University of Manchester closed in 2021 for redevelopment. When it reopened in 2023, it brought its 4.5 million item collection to new audiences via new galleries, visitor facilities and programming.
As one of the most visited museums outside of the capital, the new renovation has seen the Manchester Museum increase its visitor numbers even further, making it an essential part of the north’s cultural landscape.
National Portrait Gallery – London
First opened in 1856 and operated out of the same location since 1896, the National Portrait Gallery in London is argued to be the first gallery in the world dedicated to portraits. Since its early origins, the gallery has housed paintings, photographs among many other mediums detailing the portraits of Britons and important British cultural figures.
The gallery underwent one of the biggest revamps in its long history when it closed in 2020. At its reopening last year, the National Portrait Gallery boasted 50 new portraits, with a focus on increasing the diversity of its display to the public, now the post-1900 works are 48% of women, and the 11% of all works are of ethnic minorities – up from 3%.
Young V&A, the Victoria and Albert Museum – London
Formerly known as the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Young V&A was originally founded in 1872. Located in Bethnal Green, far from the main site of the V&A in South Kensington, the Young V&A is dedicated to showcasing objects both for and by children.
It also underwent a large renovation, reopening in 2023 after a £13 million investment to transform it into the “world’s most joyful museum”. There are three permanent galleries – themed as Play, Imagine and Design – as well as new facilities for temporary exhibitions, and learning studios.
European Museum of the Year Awards
The announcement of the UK Museum of the Year comes just before the winners will be revealed for the European Museum of the Year Awards (EMYA).
The EMYA Conference and Awards ceremony will take place in Portimão, Portugal over the rest of the week (1-4 May). Considered the most important award in its sector, over 60 museums have been through a rigorous judging panel to form the current list of nominees.
On Saturday 4 May, the overall winner will be announced as the culmination of an industry conference attended by around 300 leading museum professionals.
Last year’s overall winner was the Valencian Museum of Ethnology in Valencia, Spain. The Council of Europe Museum Prize went to the Workers Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Kenneth Hudson Award was taken home by the 23,5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory, Türkiye.
ADVERTISEMENTIn other categories, Georgia’s Vani archaeological site won the Silletto Prize, Chillida-Leku in Spain won the Portimão Museum Prize, and the Swiss Museum of Agriculture won the Meyvaert Museum Prize for Sustainability.
