The Art Fund has announced the judging panel for the 2013 Museum of the Year prize. The panel includes artist Bob and Roberta Smith, historian Tristram Hunt MP, Daily Telegraph Arts Editor Sarah Crompton and writer and broadcaster Bettany Hughes. Chair of the panel is Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar.
The winner of the annual award receives a £100,000 prize and the application process opens on 2 January 2013. A shortlist of ten finalists will be announced early April 2013. The prize is for a museum which demonstrates the most ‘innovative and remarkable approach’ across its exhibitions, acquisitions and conservation, as well as education, outreach and the use of new technology and digital media. The winner of the 2012 award was Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM).
An additional prize of £10,000, the Clore Award for Learning, will be awarded to one of the ten museums for their work with children and young people.
Bob and Roberta Smith said: “I am really eager to visit museums that are old friends and discover spaces and collections I don’t know. The Art Fund does amazing work to highlight the fundamental importance of art in what is becoming a very difficult time for culture. Through art we can fall in love across generations with people and ideas and be spurred on to inspire others.”
Stephen Deuchar said: “UK museums play a vital part in the cultural lives of some 40 million visitors per year. They are amongst the most creative and much-loved institutions in countless towns and cities across the country. The £100,000 prize for Museum of the Year is an important way of drawing attention to, and encouraging, the exceptional achievements of this leading branch of the UK’s creative industries.”
The Prize is open to all museums and galleries in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man who are part of the Accreditation Scheme operated by Arts Council England/Museums and Galleries Scotland. The first phase of the application process concludes on Wednesday 6 February.
Visit www.artfund.org/prize for application criteria and more information
