Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025 shortlist announced, the world’s largest museum prize.
The shortlisted museums are:
Beamish, The Living Museum of the North (County Durham) – the open-air museum which offers a window into life in North East England in the 1820s, 1900s, 1940s and 1950s. @beamish_museum
Chapter (Cardiff) – one of Wales’s leading arts centres rooted in the heart of Cardiff and comprising a gallery, artists’ studios, theatres, cinemas, a café bar and community garden. @chapterartscentre
Compton Verney (Warwickshire) – an art gallery with six world-class art collections, a sculpture park and café set within a Grade I-listed 18th century mansion and 120 acres of Capability Brown parkland. @compton_verney
Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast) – Northern Ireland’s leading contemporary art gallery featuring two large galleries, a community participation and engagement hub, and the country’s first visual art library and archive. Golden Thread Gallery reopened in a new venue in Belfast city centre in August 2024. @goldenthread_gallery
Perth Museum (Perth & Kinross) – home of the Stone of Destiny, Perth Museum opened in March 2024 following a £27 million development at the former Perth City Hall, telling the story of over 10,000 years of Scottish and world history through a local lens. @perthmuseumuk
The winning museum, recipient of £120,000, will be announced on 26 June at a ceremony at the Museum of Liverpool, the first time the event will be held outside London. £15,000 will be given to each of the four other finalists – bringing the total prize money to £180,000.
Art Fund annually shortlists five outstanding museums for Art Fund Museum of the Year. The 2025 edition recognises inspiring projects and activity from autumn 2023 through to winter 2024. In addition to looking at the overall achievements of the organisation, the judges are tasked with identifying impactful projects that spotlight the wide range of remarkable people, including museum staff and volunteers, who bring museums to life by engaging with communities, families and younger visitors, artists and creatives.
The 2025 judging panel, chaired by Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, includes: Rana Begum (Artist), Dr David Dibosa (Director of Research and Interpretation, Tate), Jane Richardson (Chief Executive, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales) and Phil Wang (Comedian, Writer, Actor). The judges will visit each of the finalists to inform their decision-making, while each museum will make the most of being shortlisted over the summer through events and activities for new and current visitors.
Speaking on behalf of the judges, Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund said:
“This year’s finalists are inspiring examples of museums at their best – deeply connected to their local communities, responsive to the world around them, and alive with energy and ideas. Each one offers a distinctive experience, showing the endless creativity and care that goes into making museums inspiring and exciting spaces for everyone. Art Fund is proud to celebrate their work and support their ambition through Art Fund Museum of the Year. We hope people across the UK will be inspired to visit these remarkable places and museums in their local area to discover the powerful role they can play in our lives.”
The prize is funded thanks to the generosity of Art Fund’s members who buy a National Art Pass. Art Pass holders enjoy discounts and benefits at the shortlisted museums and hundreds more across the UK.
