Birmingham Museums Citizens’ Jury – members of which will host this year’s Museums Association (MA) Conference – has been recognised for its impact in the sector, alongside UAL Decolonising Arts Institute 20/20.
The two initiatives were among 23 winners at last night’s Museums + Heritage Awards at Hilton Park Lane in London.
The most popular category for applications this year was Community Engagement Programme of the Year, which was won by the Horniman Museum and Gardens for All Eyes on Her!: Community Stewardship for Institutional Change.
Heba Abd el Gawad, the Horniman’s senior curator of anthropology, will be speaking about the project at the MA’s forthcoming Future of Museums: Empowering Collections event on 17 June.
The judges at the awards said All Eyes on Her! is “a transferable model of shared stewardship for the sector”.
The Sector Impact Award was jointly won by Birmingham Museums Citizens’ Jury and UAL Decolonising Arts Institute 20/20.
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The citizens’ jury brought together a representative group of residents from across the city to shape the future direction of Birmingham’s museums. It previously won Best Museums Change Lives Project Award at the MA’s 2025 conference, and four members of the jury will host this year’s Conference exploring Museums Connecting Communities in the city.
Other notable awards made last night include Judges’ Special Recognition Award, which went to Shanaz Gulzar, creative director of Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.
The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Design and Disability exhibition won the Visitor Accessibility Award, and Culture Leicestershire and Leicestershire County Council won the Team of the Year for Villiers Revealed: We Have Always Been Here.
Temporary exhibition of the year went to the Food Museum for School Dinners and Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year went to Norfolk Museums Service for Norwich Castle: A Royal Palace Reborn.