Manchester Museum named finalist for Museum of the Year 2024

The Manchester Museum has been qualified as one of the five finalists for the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2024.

The prize for the winning museum is £120,000, as well as an additional £15,000 for each of the other four museum finalists.

The award intends to put a spotlight on Museums that make an extraordinary contribution to their community and the nation. Such projects are concerned with the ideas of community, sustainability, and the demonstration of ambition.

Alongside the Manchester Museum, finalists include: The Craven Museum (located in Skipton, North Yorkshire), Dundee Contemporary Arts, The National Portrait Gallery, and the Young V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum).

The Judges who are set to crown the winner include television broadcaster Vick Hope, visual artist Tania Kovats, former director-general of National Galleries of Scotland Sir John Leighton, and the finance director of Historic Royal Palaces Anupam Ganguli.

The Manchester Museum was reopened last February from a redevelopment project as part of their hello future vision, an ethos which champions an “understanding and empathy between cultures, across generations and time.”

According to Esme Ward, the Director of Manchester Museum, “Manchester Museum’s redevelopment was the result of of 10 years’ collective endeavour so being shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year is a moment of joy for everyone to share in, from staff and partners to our communities and Manchester itself.”

“It is affirmation of museums’ power to bring people together in building a more inclusive, hopeful future.”

The museum has aimed to address its imperial past by fostering close ties with global communities and peoples who have a special connections with the various artefacts within the collection.

The Manchester Museum has made a partnership with The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). Starting from November 2019, the Museum had agreed to return sacred artefacts to the aboriginal people of Australia.

A new exhibition titled Wild is set to be unveiled on June 5, 2024, which will investigate humanities relationship with the natural world and how different communities across the globe are redefining those connections. This interactive display aims to help visitors notice the rich biodiversity and question our relationship with nature.