‘Impactful’ Manchester Museum named European Museum Of The Year

Manchester Museum has gained the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), hailed by judges for “balancing globally-significant educational analysis with neighborhood engagement and social duty”.

The museum, a part of the University of Manchester, is the primary college museum to obtain the accolade, which is thought to be one of the vital prestigious awards of its type on the earth.

It topped a shortlist of 41 museums, together with the world-renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

Judges praised how the museum, on Oxford Road, “reimagined its mission, acknowledging and addressing its advanced historical past by redefining the function of its collections and public programmes”.

The museum – which is free to go to – was additionally praised for “considerate, knowledgeable, and impactful neighborhood engagement, creating a really inclusive area the place all people, no matter identification or background, can see themselves mirrored and represented”.

Esme Ward, director of the Manchester Museum, accepted the award at a ceremony on the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białistok, Poland – winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize final 12 months.

“Museums have the facility to be empathy machines – bringing generations and communities collectively to construct understanding, whereas confronting the previous with honesty and transparency,” stated Ms Ward.

“More than ever earlier than, we want museums which are values-led, imaginative and assured about what they stand for.”

Operated by the European Museum Forum (EMF), EMYA recognises both new museums or established museums which have undertaken a programme of modernisation. An common of round 45 museums apply every year, from throughout the 46 member nations.

Two principal awards, the EMYA and the Council of Europe Museum Prize, have been awarded constantly since 1977.