Art Fund announces museum of the year

The Horniman museum in South East London has been crowned the Art Fund museum of the year.

This year’s edition of the annual award focused particularly on museums working to engage the next generation of audiences in innovative ways. The award’s judges commended the Forest Hill museum for reconfiguring its programme in light of the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the increasing urgency of the climate crisis.

The Horniman's Reset Agenda has focused on reaching diverse audiences more representative of London and included embedding a Climate and Ecology Manifesto. The museum has also carried out gallery takeovers by children aged 14-19 on its youth panel, offered work experiences and Kickstart apprenticeships and showcased Black British creativity at a sold-out festival, with a related exhibition reaching nearly 20,000 visitors.

Art Fund Director Jenny Waldman said the Horniman is “in many ways, the perfect museum”.

“Its values are woven through everything it now does, with a passionate team breathing life and meaning into every object, performance, plant and animal.”

Horniman director Nick Merriman was presented with £100,000, the world’s largest museum prize, at a ceremony last week.

The other four shortlisted museums – Oxford’s the Story Museum, Manchester’s the People’s History Museum, Wrexham’s Ty Pawb, and the Museum of Making in Derby – each received £15,000.