Clockwise from top left: Burrell Collection, Natural History Museum, Leighton House, The MAC and Scapa Flow Museum.
Simon Stephens, Art Fund reveals Museum of the Year finalists, Museums Association, 22 May 2023
Museums in Glasgow, Orkney, Belfast, and two in London make shortlist.
The Art Fund has announced the five finalists for this year’s Museum of the Year award.
The shortlisted museums are:
- The Burrell Collection (Glasgow)
- Leighton House (London)
- The MAC (Belfast)
- Natural History Museum (London)
- Scapa Flow Museum (Orkney)
The winning museum will be announced at the British Museum in London on 12 July and will receive £120,000. The prize money has been increased for 2023 and beyond to mark the Art Fund’s 120th year of supporting museums. The other four finalists will be given £15,000 each, bringing the total prize money to £180,000.
This year’s judges, chaired by Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, are: Larry Achiampong, artist; Mary Beard, historian and broadcaster; Abadesi Osunsade, Art Fund trustee, author and owner of Hustle Crew; and Laura Pye, director, National Museums Liverpool.
“The five Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023 finalists are at the top of their game, offering inspirational collections and programmes for their communities, for visitors from across the UK and around the world,” Waldman said.
“From transformational redevelopment to community involvement to addressing the major issues of today, the shortlisted museums may operate at very different scales, but all show astonishing ambition and boundless creativity. Each is a blueprint for future innovation in museums.”
The winner of last year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year was the Horniman Museum and Gardens, London.
