Museum Of The Year 2021: Shortlist Introduced

The five finalists for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021 have been announced. The shortlist ranges from a contemporary arts centre in Northern Ireland, to a cultural organisation and social hub in the Scottish Highlands. The winner of the prestigious award will receive £100,000.

The shortlist for the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021, which rewards the extraordinary and innovative ways in which museums have served and connected with their communities over the past year, has been revealed:

Centre for Contemporary Art Derry~Londonderry, Derry~Londonderry

Experience Barnsley, Barnsley

Firstsite, Colchester

Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds

Timespan, Helmsdale

The winner of £100,000, the world’s largest museum prize, will be announced in September 2021. The other four finalists will receive £15,000 each in recognition of their achievements in what has continued to be a challenging year for cultural organisations.

This year’s judging panel comprises Maria Balshaw, Edith Bowman, Katrina Brown, Suhair Khan, Thomas J Price, and is chaired by Art Fund Director Jenny Waldman.

Speaking on behalf of the judges, Jenny Waldman highlighted that the five finalists: “are all deeply embedded in their communities and alive to the possibilities of reaching far beyond their locality digitally,” and that, “each have shown extraordinary innovation and resolve.”

Last year the Art Fund acknowledged the difficulties faced by museums and galleries, increasing the prize fund to £200,000 and splitting the award equally between Aberdeen Art Gallery, Gairloch Museum, the Science Museum, South London Gallery and Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne.