Now in their 17th year, the Museums + Heritage Awards recognise innovators and leaders in the international museums, galleries and heritage attractions sectors. We take a look at winners from this year’s awards
Recognised for a lifetime of supporting museum and heritage projects, Sir David Attenborough was named winner of the Special Recognition Award. One of his most well–known museum projects was Natural History Museum Alive – a 2014 BAFTA-winning documentary which used CGI imagery to bring to life several of the extinct animal skeletons in the museum.
"Museums are among my favourite places. I’ve been involved with them for most of my life, one way or another, and I have never known them actually not being under attack and underfunded. So, if I’ve contributed to one museum or any other museum in preserving those ideals that are so important to all of us, I’m very grateful indeed that you should think so." - Sir David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough has long been an advocate for the museum sector
Permanent Exhibition of the Year - WINNER
SS Great Britain Trust – Being Brunel
Matthew Tanner, chief executive, SS Great Britain Trust
The £7.2m (US$8.9m) museum explores the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a man known as one of the greatest minds in the history of engineering, hailed as the “genius who built Britain”. The new attraction, designed by local firm Alec French Architects, is made up of six galleries, which sets out a collection of 150 Brunel artefacts – many never seen by the public – offering an insight into his life, family, interests and creative mind.
"By preserving Brunel’s legacy in this way, the museum aims to show what the man-made, and what made the man, and we aim to inspire the innovators of the future." - Matthew Tanner, chief executive, SS Great Britain Trust
Being Brunel brings together the world’s most significant collection of one of engineering’s greatest minds
Highly Commended: • National Maritime Museum – Endeavour Galleries Project
Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year - WINNER
Florence Nightingale Museum – Spanish Flu: Nursing During History’s Deadliest Pandemic
The groundbreaking exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which was exacerbated by large scale movement of troops at the end of the war which contributed to the rapid spread of the disease around the world, infecting more than half a billion people worldwide and killing 50–100 million, including 250,000 Britons.
"This exhibition reflects on this largely forgotten historic event and showcases the important contribution of both nurses in hospitals and ordinary women at home, in caring for victims." - Holly Carter-Chappell, collections officer at the Florence Nightingale Museum
The exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 pandemic
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors;
• The Foundling Museum – Ladies of Quality & Distinction
Limited Budget Project of the Year - WINNER
Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath – Wonder Women of Space Exhibition
Dr Amy Frost, senior curator, Bath Preservation Trust
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is dedicated to the many achievements of the Herschels, who were distinguished astronomers as well as talented musicians. The Wonder Women of Space exhibition ran for nine months in 2018 and cost just £980 (US$1,215) to put on. An associated programme of activities included space-themed workshops, stargazing, school visits, talks and opportunities to meet international astronauts and scientists attracted visitors from all over the world, with the museum enjoying a 31 per cent increase in visitor numbers and a 68 per cent increase in followers on social media.
"We’re over the moon at this level of recognition and can’t thank the judges enough for seeing how hard we worked on this exhibition. We’re a charity with no external funding and couldn’t have run this project without the £1,000 grant from our local authority. Incredible female space scientists, past and present, inspire us with their genius." - Dr Amy Frost, senior curator, Bath Preservation Trust
The exhibition celebrates female role models in space and engineering
Highly Commended: • The Novium Museum – Chichester Roman Week 2018
The International Project of the Year – more than £1m - WINNER
The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Andrew Bolton
Organised by the museum’s Costume Institute in collaboration with the Department of Medieval Art, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination explores how the religion’s imagery and symbolism have impacted contemporary haute-couture and ready-to-wear designs.
"The exhibition situates costumes alongside religious artworks to provide an interpretive context for fashion’s engagement in Catholicism." - Andrew Bolton, chief curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute
The exhibition’s assistant curator, Mellissa Huber, accepted the award
Ties between fashion and the Catholic church are examined in the exhibition
SHORTLISTED:
• Haley Sharpe Design Ltd – Museum at the Gateway Arch redevelopment, St Louis;
• The Commonwealth Government of Australia – Sir John Monash Centre;
• National Library of Ireland – Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again;
• Royal Alberta Museum – Royal Alberta Museum Renewal
The International Project of the Year – less than £1m - WINNER
Australian National Maritime Museum – Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country
Beau James,
Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country tells the story of the Yolnu people of North-East Arnhem Land, their fight for recognition of Indigenous land and sea rights and the Blue Mud Bay legal case. Visitors see a host of vibrant images including ancestral beings, ancient mariners, symbolic icons and a host of spiritual creatures including snakes, crocodiles, fish, turtles and birds, all set against traditional sacred designs representing fresh, tidal and saltwater.
"We’re really proud that the exhibition was completely led by the Indigenous community – the curation, design, the marketing agency and video producers were all Indigenous." - Beau James, co-curator, manager Indigenous Programs, Australian National Maritime Museum
Gapu (water), monuk (salt), describes Saltwater in the Yolnu matha language
Highly Commended: • Fries Museum /XPEX Experience Experts – Escher Op Reis / Escher’s Journey
The International Project of the Year – less than £1m - WINNER
Australian National Maritime Museum – Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country
Carolyn Blackwood
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums (IWM), in October 2018, Sir Peter Jackson debuted a new film using original footage from IWM’s archive alongside BBC and IWM interviews with servicemen who fought in World War One.
Called They Shall Not Grow Old, the footage featured has been colourised, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques.
"This documentary is special on every level – it is an arresting and gripping way to humanise and honour those who served so bravely during WWI by using actual footage shot at the time and narrated with the voices of the soldiers who experienced it." - Carolyn Blackwood, president and chief content officer, New Line Cinema
They Shall Not Grow Old was created using original footage of World War I from IWM’s archives
Highly Commended: • Scottish Submarine Trust – Inside Out – Scottish Submarine Centre
Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year - WINNER
Old Royal Naval College – Painted Hall Project
Angela McConville
The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, reopened on 23 March 2019 after a two year National Lottery Funded conservation project, which brought its magnificent painted interior back to life.
"Our new visitor experience will, we believe, bring delight and stimulate curiosity for many more visitors and be a place for locals to enjoy again and again." - Angela McConville, CEO, Old Royal Naval College
The Painted Hall has been referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the UK’
Highly Commended:
• Austin–Smith: Lord on behalf of Historic Royal Palaces – Kew Gardens Great Pagoda
• Donald Insall Associates on behalf of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – Temperate House Precinct Project
Educational Initiative of the Year - WINNER
Leeds Museums & Galleries – Leeds Curriculum
Angela McConville
Focusing specifically on primary schools, the Leeds Curriculum offers one opportunity to redress the balance of the curriculum in schools which face increasing pressure from national policy changes to move away from arts education.
"So much hard work has gone into developing and designing the Leeds Curriculum from everyone involved and I’m delighted that children across the city now have access to a wealth of resources which will help them to discover more about their home." - Kate Fellows, lifelong learning manager, Leeds Museums and Galleries
Leeds Curriculum is a one-stop resource for primary school teachers across the region
Highly Commended:
• London Transport Museum – Battle Bus
• Royal Air Force Museum – STAAR – Summer Time Advanced Aerospace Residency
Partnership of the Year - WINNER
Natural History Museum, Dorset County Museum and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery,
Ulster Museum in Belfast – Dippy on Tour, a natural history adventure
Sir Michael Dixon
Never before put on public display outside of London, the Natural History Museum’s iconic 26-metre-long Diplodocus cast, “Dippy”, is travelling the UK until late 2020 on a nationwide tour.
"Not only has he broken visitor number records at every venue, but Dippy has also had a huge social and economic impact, benefiting the surrounding communities." - Sir Michael Dixon, director, Natural History Museum
Marketing Campaign of the Year - WINNER
The Museum of English Rural Life – Look at this Absolute Unit
Adam Koszary
Using meme culture and a collection of farmyard animals, the Museum of English Rural Life has soared into the upper echelons of the social media stratosphere. Its launch point was the day it tweeted out an image of Exmoor Horn aged ram along with the caption “look at this absolute unit”, receiving hundreds of thousands of shares online (for more, see the Q2 2019 edition of Attractions Management).
"We’ve had a big boost in visitor numbers. We get visitors from the US, New Zealand, Canada and Europe coming into Reading to visit the museum when they otherwise wouldn’t have, all because we shared a photo on Twitter." - Adam Koszary, formerly MERL, now social media manager, Tesla
Highly Commended: • The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum, Leisure & Culture Dundee – Bash Street’s Back at The McMenace
Shops of the Year
WINNER (t/o over £500k) BALTIC Shop, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art – Shop Refurbishment
Opened in 2006, shop at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art underwent a transformation in 2018 with a new interior in the same location to coincide with the Great Exhibition of the North. The revamped store offers a range of Baltic souvenirs and North East England-themed gifts.
SHORTLISTED:
• Lumsden Design for V&A Dundee – V&A Dundee Shop
• Japan House London – The Shop at Japan House London
• RAF Museum – RAF Centenary Programme
• National Museums Liverpool – China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition shop at World Museum
Shops of the Year
WINNER (t/o under £500k) Florence Nightingale Museum – Retail Transformation
The new store aims to offer a unique retail experience with its Florence Nightingale and nursing inspired product ranges, including the introduction of new lines and rare one-off items. The judging panel described the work as a “visionary and inspirational transformation”.
SHORTLISTED:
• Royal Museums Greenwich Photography Shop
• Aerospace Bristol Gift Shop
Volunteer of the Year Award – Individual - WINNER
The D-Day Story, Portsmouth Museums – John Jenkins
John Jenkins
John Jenkins MBE was a young man when he landed on Gold Beach on June 8 1944 during the D-Day landings. Now 99 and walking with a stick, Jenkins acts as a volunteer for the D-Day Story in Portsmouth, UK, which completed a £5m (US$6.1m) Lottery-funded refurbishment in March 2018.
"You never forget your comrades because you’re all in it together. It’s right that the courage and sacrifice of so many are being honoured 75 years on. We must never forget." - John Jenkins
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – Carl Clee ‘Our Bee Man’
• Pickering Beck Isle Museum – Gordon Clitheroe
Volunteers of the Year Award – Team - WINNER
History of Science Museum and Pitt Rivers Museums, University of Oxford Museums – Multaka-Oxford Volunteer Team
Nicola Bird
Multaka-Oxford aims to create volunteer opportunities and to use museums and collections as a ‘meeting point’ for bringing people together. The Arabic for ‘meeting point’, the Multaka scheme gives refugees from countries including Syria and Iraq volunteer jobs as museum tour guides in Oxford.
"The project not only offers practical support such as on-the-job training but also personal support such as providing a sense of inclusion." - Nicola Bird, project manager
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – Merseyside Maritime Museum Liverpool Women’s History Group
Multaka-Oxford is being delivered jointly by the Pitt Rivers Museum and the History of Science Museum
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Now in their 17th year, the Museums + Heritage Awards recognise innovators and leaders in the international museums, galleries and heritage attractions sectors. We take a look at winners from this year’s awards
Recognised for a lifetime of supporting museum and heritage projects, Sir David Attenborough was named winner of the Special Recognition Award. One of his most well–known museum projects was Natural History Museum Alive – a 2014 BAFTA-winning documentary which used CGI imagery to bring to life several of the extinct animal skeletons in the museum.
"Museums are among my favourite places. I’ve been involved with them for most of my life, one way or another, and I have never known them actually not being under attack and underfunded. So, if I’ve contributed to one museum or any other museum in preserving those ideals that are so important to all of us, I’m very grateful indeed that you should think so." - Sir David Attenborough
Sir David Attenborough has long been an advocate for the museum sector
Permanent Exhibition of the Year - WINNER
SS Great Britain Trust – Being Brunel
Matthew Tanner, chief executive, SS Great Britain Trust
The £7.2m (US$8.9m) museum explores the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a man known as one of the greatest minds in the history of engineering, hailed as the “genius who built Britain”. The new attraction, designed by local firm Alec French Architects, is made up of six galleries, which sets out a collection of 150 Brunel artefacts – many never seen by the public – offering an insight into his life, family, interests and creative mind.
"By preserving Brunel’s legacy in this way, the museum aims to show what the man-made, and what made the man, and we aim to inspire the innovators of the future." - Matthew Tanner, chief executive, SS Great Britain Trust
Being Brunel brings together the world’s most significant collection of one of engineering’s greatest minds
Highly Commended: • National Maritime Museum – Endeavour Galleries Project
Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year - WINNER
Florence Nightingale Museum – Spanish Flu: Nursing During History’s Deadliest Pandemic
The groundbreaking exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which was exacerbated by large scale movement of troops at the end of the war which contributed to the rapid spread of the disease around the world, infecting more than half a billion people worldwide and killing 50–100 million, including 250,000 Britons.
"This exhibition reflects on this largely forgotten historic event and showcases the important contribution of both nurses in hospitals and ordinary women at home, in caring for victims." - Holly Carter-Chappell, collections officer at the Florence Nightingale Museum
The exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 pandemic
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors;
• The Foundling Museum – Ladies of Quality & Distinction
Limited Budget Project of the Year - WINNER
Herschel Museum of Astronomy, Bath – Wonder Women of Space Exhibition
Dr Amy Frost, senior curator, Bath Preservation Trust
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is dedicated to the many achievements of the Herschels, who were distinguished astronomers as well as talented musicians. The Wonder Women of Space exhibition ran for nine months in 2018 and cost just £980 (US$1,215) to put on. An associated programme of activities included space-themed workshops, stargazing, school visits, talks and opportunities to meet international astronauts and scientists attracted visitors from all over the world, with the museum enjoying a 31 per cent increase in visitor numbers and a 68 per cent increase in followers on social media.
"We’re over the moon at this level of recognition and can’t thank the judges enough for seeing how hard we worked on this exhibition. We’re a charity with no external funding and couldn’t have run this project without the £1,000 grant from our local authority. Incredible female space scientists, past and present, inspire us with their genius." - Dr Amy Frost, senior curator, Bath Preservation Trust
The exhibition celebrates female role models in space and engineering
Highly Commended: • The Novium Museum – Chichester Roman Week 2018
The International Project of the Year – more than £1m - WINNER
The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Andrew Bolton
Organised by the museum’s Costume Institute in collaboration with the Department of Medieval Art, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination explores how the religion’s imagery and symbolism have impacted contemporary haute-couture and ready-to-wear designs.
"The exhibition situates costumes alongside religious artworks to provide an interpretive context for fashion’s engagement in Catholicism." - Andrew Bolton, chief curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute
The exhibition’s assistant curator, Mellissa Huber, accepted the award
Ties between fashion and the Catholic church are examined in the exhibition
SHORTLISTED:
• Haley Sharpe Design Ltd – Museum at the Gateway Arch redevelopment, St Louis;
• The Commonwealth Government of Australia – Sir John Monash Centre;
• National Library of Ireland – Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again;
• Royal Alberta Museum – Royal Alberta Museum Renewal
The International Project of the Year – less than £1m - WINNER
Australian National Maritime Museum – Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country
Beau James,
Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country tells the story of the Yolnu people of North-East Arnhem Land, their fight for recognition of Indigenous land and sea rights and the Blue Mud Bay legal case. Visitors see a host of vibrant images including ancestral beings, ancient mariners, symbolic icons and a host of spiritual creatures including snakes, crocodiles, fish, turtles and birds, all set against traditional sacred designs representing fresh, tidal and saltwater.
"We’re really proud that the exhibition was completely led by the Indigenous community – the curation, design, the marketing agency and video producers were all Indigenous." - Beau James, co-curator, manager Indigenous Programs, Australian National Maritime Museum
Gapu (water), monuk (salt), describes Saltwater in the Yolnu matha language
Highly Commended: • Fries Museum /XPEX Experience Experts – Escher Op Reis / Escher’s Journey
The International Project of the Year – less than £1m - WINNER
Australian National Maritime Museum – Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country
Carolyn Blackwood
Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums (IWM), in October 2018, Sir Peter Jackson debuted a new film using original footage from IWM’s archive alongside BBC and IWM interviews with servicemen who fought in World War One.
Called They Shall Not Grow Old, the footage featured has been colourised, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques.
"This documentary is special on every level – it is an arresting and gripping way to humanise and honour those who served so bravely during WWI by using actual footage shot at the time and narrated with the voices of the soldiers who experienced it." - Carolyn Blackwood, president and chief content officer, New Line Cinema
They Shall Not Grow Old was created using original footage of World War I from IWM’s archives
Highly Commended: • Scottish Submarine Trust – Inside Out – Scottish Submarine Centre
Restoration or Conservation Project of the Year - WINNER
Old Royal Naval College – Painted Hall Project
Angela McConville
The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, reopened on 23 March 2019 after a two year National Lottery Funded conservation project, which brought its magnificent painted interior back to life.
"Our new visitor experience will, we believe, bring delight and stimulate curiosity for many more visitors and be a place for locals to enjoy again and again." - Angela McConville, CEO, Old Royal Naval College
The Painted Hall has been referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the UK’
Highly Commended:
• Austin–Smith: Lord on behalf of Historic Royal Palaces – Kew Gardens Great Pagoda
• Donald Insall Associates on behalf of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew – Temperate House Precinct Project
Educational Initiative of the Year - WINNER
Leeds Museums & Galleries – Leeds Curriculum
Angela McConville
Focusing specifically on primary schools, the Leeds Curriculum offers one opportunity to redress the balance of the curriculum in schools which face increasing pressure from national policy changes to move away from arts education.
"So much hard work has gone into developing and designing the Leeds Curriculum from everyone involved and I’m delighted that children across the city now have access to a wealth of resources which will help them to discover more about their home." - Kate Fellows, lifelong learning manager, Leeds Museums and Galleries
Leeds Curriculum is a one-stop resource for primary school teachers across the region
Highly Commended:
• London Transport Museum – Battle Bus
• Royal Air Force Museum – STAAR – Summer Time Advanced Aerospace Residency
Partnership of the Year - WINNER
Natural History Museum, Dorset County Museum and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery,
Ulster Museum in Belfast – Dippy on Tour, a natural history adventure
Sir Michael Dixon
Never before put on public display outside of London, the Natural History Museum’s iconic 26-metre-long Diplodocus cast, “Dippy”, is travelling the UK until late 2020 on a nationwide tour.
"Not only has he broken visitor number records at every venue, but Dippy has also had a huge social and economic impact, benefiting the surrounding communities." - Sir Michael Dixon, director, Natural History Museum
Marketing Campaign of the Year - WINNER
The Museum of English Rural Life – Look at this Absolute Unit
Adam Koszary
Using meme culture and a collection of farmyard animals, the Museum of English Rural Life has soared into the upper echelons of the social media stratosphere. Its launch point was the day it tweeted out an image of Exmoor Horn aged ram along with the caption “look at this absolute unit”, receiving hundreds of thousands of shares online (for more, see the Q2 2019 edition of Attractions Management).
"We’ve had a big boost in visitor numbers. We get visitors from the US, New Zealand, Canada and Europe coming into Reading to visit the museum when they otherwise wouldn’t have, all because we shared a photo on Twitter." - Adam Koszary, formerly MERL, now social media manager, Tesla
Highly Commended: • The McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery & Museum, Leisure & Culture Dundee – Bash Street’s Back at The McMenace
Shops of the Year
WINNER (t/o over £500k) BALTIC Shop, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art – Shop Refurbishment
Opened in 2006, shop at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art underwent a transformation in 2018 with a new interior in the same location to coincide with the Great Exhibition of the North. The revamped store offers a range of Baltic souvenirs and North East England-themed gifts.
SHORTLISTED:
• Lumsden Design for V&A Dundee – V&A Dundee Shop
• Japan House London – The Shop at Japan House London
• RAF Museum – RAF Centenary Programme
• National Museums Liverpool – China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition shop at World Museum
Shops of the Year
WINNER (t/o under £500k) Florence Nightingale Museum – Retail Transformation
The new store aims to offer a unique retail experience with its Florence Nightingale and nursing inspired product ranges, including the introduction of new lines and rare one-off items. The judging panel described the work as a “visionary and inspirational transformation”.
SHORTLISTED:
• Royal Museums Greenwich Photography Shop
• Aerospace Bristol Gift Shop
Volunteer of the Year Award – Individual - WINNER
The D-Day Story, Portsmouth Museums – John Jenkins
John Jenkins
John Jenkins MBE was a young man when he landed on Gold Beach on June 8 1944 during the D-Day landings. Now 99 and walking with a stick, Jenkins acts as a volunteer for the D-Day Story in Portsmouth, UK, which completed a £5m (US$6.1m) Lottery-funded refurbishment in March 2018.
"You never forget your comrades because you’re all in it together. It’s right that the courage and sacrifice of so many are being honoured 75 years on. We must never forget." - John Jenkins
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – Carl Clee ‘Our Bee Man’
• Pickering Beck Isle Museum – Gordon Clitheroe
Volunteers of the Year Award – Team - WINNER
History of Science Museum and Pitt Rivers Museums, University of Oxford Museums – Multaka-Oxford Volunteer Team
Nicola Bird
Multaka-Oxford aims to create volunteer opportunities and to use museums and collections as a ‘meeting point’ for bringing people together. The Arabic for ‘meeting point’, the Multaka scheme gives refugees from countries including Syria and Iraq volunteer jobs as museum tour guides in Oxford.
"The project not only offers practical support such as on-the-job training but also personal support such as providing a sense of inclusion." - Nicola Bird, project manager
Highly Commended:
• National Museums Liverpool – Merseyside Maritime Museum Liverpool Women’s History Group
Multaka-Oxford is being delivered jointly by the Pitt Rivers Museum and the History of Science Museum
Off the back of the success of the first round of Everyday Heritage Grants in 2022, Historic
England is funding 56 creative projects that honour the heritage of working-class England.
Universal has revealed it will be adding new Harry Potter attractions, alongside Super Nintendo
and How to Train Your Dragon worlds to its Florida resort.
Populous have unveiled their plans for a state-of-the-art e-sports arena, designed to stand as a
central landmark in Qiddaya City’s gaming and e-sports district, Saudi Arabia.
Immersive entertainment specialists, Layered Reality, is creating a tribute to Elvis Presley
featuring a concert experience with a life-sized digital Elvis.
