Art Fund Museum of the Year will award £120,000 to the winning museum. £20,000 will be given to each of the four other finalists – an increase of £5,000 for each museum – bringing the total prize money to £200,000.
Art Fund is seeking applications from any UK museum, gallery, historic house, library or archive whatever their scale, for outstanding and inspiring projects between autumn 2024 and winter 2025.
For the 2026 edition of the prize, in addition to looking at the overall achievements of the organisation, judges are tasked to evaluate museums who through unexpected, innovative and forward-thinking practices, are pushing the boundaries of what a museum is or can achieve.
A shortlist of five museums will be announced in April 2026 and the winner will be revealed on 25 June at an award ceremony at Cutty Sark in London.
Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director and Art Fund Museum of the Year chair of judges, said, “Art Fund Museum of the Year gets to the heart of what makes a truly outstanding museum. The world’s largest museum prize, powered by our National Art Pass members, Art Fund Museum of the Year champions the vital role museums play in inspiring creativity, supporting wellbeing and enriching communities everywhere. As we open applications for the 13th year, we’re excited to hear from museums of all sizes, in every corner of the country, who are pushing boundaries and redefining what a museum can be.”
Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025 was awarded to Beamish, The Living Museum of the North in Yorkshire. Rhiannon Hiles, Chief Executive of Beamish, was presented with the £120,000 prize by the comedian and a judge of the prize Phil Wang at a ceremony at the Museum of Liverpool.
Rhiannon Hiles, Chief Executive of Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, winner of Museum of the Year 2025 said, “Art Fund Museum of the Year has brought many new opportunities and connections, highlighting the museum’s innovative work on a world stage, as a beating heart of the North East and an inclusive and welcoming space. The prize money will bring a real impact, allowing us to invest in our health and wellbeing programmes, and in our people, as well as widen access to learning activities.”
There are around 2,500 museums in the UK, many of them free, including national museums, local authority museums, university museums, independent museums, historic properties and heritage sites. Art Fund Museum of the Year is part of Art Fund’s charitable programme in support of museums, which includes grant giving, support and partnerships.
The prize is powered by Art Fund’s members who buy a National Art Pass. National Art Pass holders enjoy free or discounted entry at the shortlisted museums and hundreds more across the UK.
Art Fund Museum of the Year
The first ‘Art Fund Museum of the Year’ was awarded in 2013 to the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow. Its forerunner was the Prize for Museums and Galleries, administered by the Museum Prize Trust. Art Fund supported this prize between 2008 – 2012, when it was known as the ‘Art Fund Prize’. It was sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from 2003-2007, when it was known as the ‘Gulbenkian Museum Prize’.
There is a rich history of prizes for museums, the first running from 1973-2003, called ‘The National Heritage Museum of the Year’.
Art Fund Museum of the Year champions what museums do, encourages more people to visit and gets to the heart of what makes a truly outstanding museum. The judges present the prize to the museum or gallery that has shown how their achievements of the preceding year stand out, demonstrated what makes their work innovative, and the impact it has had on audiences.
Winners of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2013 – 2025:
2025 – Beamish, The Living Museum of the North
2024 – Young V&A, London
2023 – The Burrell Collection, Glasgow
2022 – Horniman Museum and Gardens, London
2021 – Firstsite, Colchester
2020 – Aberdeen Art Gallery; Gairloch Museum; Science Museum; South London Gallery; and Towner Eastbourne.
2019 – St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff
2018 – Tate St Ives
2017 – The Hepworth, Wakefield
2016 – Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London
2015 – Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
2014 – Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
2013 – William Morris Gallery, London
Winners of The Art Fund Prize 2008 – 2012:
2012 – Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
2011 – British Museum
2010 – Ulster Museum, Belfast
2009 – Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent
2008 – The Lightbox, Woking
Art Fund
Art Fund is the national charity for museums and galleries. For over 120 years, it has helped institutions across the UK to develop and share their collections, invest in people and expertise, grow their audiences and inspire the next generation.
Art Fund connects museums and people with great art and culture through funding, advocacy and initiatives, because access to art is vital for a healthy society. It champions the sector through the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year Award – the world’s largest museum prize – and supports museum professionals through dedicated training and grant programmes.
Independent and people-powered, Art Fund is supported by 142,000 members who buy a National Art Pass, as well as generous contributions from individuals, trusts and foundations. The National Art Pass offers free or discounted entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places in the UK, 50% off major exhibitions, a subscription to Art Quarterly magazine and Art In Your Inbox newsletter.
