Shortlist revealed for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025

The five finalists for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025 have been revealed.

The shortlist for the £120,000 award – described as the world’s largest museum prize – was announced today by Art Fund, the national charity for museums and galleries.

 The nominees are:  

• Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, County Durham – the open-air museum explores life in north-east England from the 1820s to the 1950s.
• Chapter, Cardiff – one of Wales’s leading arts centres in Cardiff, the site comprises a gallery, artists’ studios, theatres, cinemas, a café bar and community garden.
• 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.
• 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. The gallery reopened in a new venue in Belfast city centre in August 2024.
• Perth Museum, Perth & Kinross – home of the Stone of Destiny, Perth Museum opened in March 2024 following a £27m development at the former Perth City Hall. It tells the story of more than 10,000 years of Scottish and world history through a local lens.

The winning museum will be announced on 26 June at a ceremony at the Museum of Liverpool, the first time the event will be held outside London. The other four finalists will receive £15,000 each, bringing the total prize money to £180,000.

The 2025 edition of the prize 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”.

Chaired by Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, the 2025 judging panel comprises artist Rana Begum; David Dibosa, director of research and interpretation at Tate; Jane Richardson, the chief executive of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales; and comedian, writer and actor Phil Wang.

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, Waldman 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 by Art Fund’s members.