The reconstructed painted ceiling of the wooden synagogue of Gwozdziec, a core exhibit of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, winner of the European Museum of the Year 2016. Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Photo: Ruth Ellen Gruber.

EMYA 2016: from milliennia of history to microbial life, National Museums Directors Council (UK), May 2016

Imaginative and sometimes brave museum services across Europe have been celebrated in this year’s EMYA awards, run by the European Museum Forum. POLIN, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews has won European Museum of the Year 2016.

Opened in 2013, the museum tells the story of a millennia of Jewish history, and stands in what was once a vibrant Jewish area of Warsaw. Also in Poland, the new European Solidarity Centre which explores the Solidarity movement in Poland received two awards. Vukovar City Museum, Croatia, itself completely destroyed by war in 1991, has worked on reconstructing the social and cultural life of Vukovar since 1997 and won an award for social outreach.

Micropia in the Netherlands, which tells the story of microbial life, won an award for challenging common perceptions of museums. Two UK institutions won special commendations: the Science Museum for its new Information Age gallery and The Whitworth for its imaginative redesign. M+H, EMYA, POLIN, European Solidarity Centre, Vukovar City Museum, Micropia