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.
MORE: artfund.org/art-fund-museum-of-the-year
