Tate St Ives has been named the winner of this year's Art Fund Museum of the Year.
The awards ceremony took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where Anne Barlow, the director of Tate St Ives, was presented the prize – worth £100,000 – by artist Isaac Julien and the recently crowned ‘world’s best teacher’, Andria Zafirakou.
The Gallery underwent an extensive expansion project which was only unveiled in 2017. The development doubles the space for showing art, adding almost 600 sq m (6,500sq ft) of galleries, and creates spectacular new studios for learning activities. It gives the gallery enough space to accommodate the 250,000 visitors it welcomes each year.
Other finalists shortlisted for the award included Weybridge’s Brooklands Museum, Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, Glasgow Women’s library and The Postal Museum in London.
This year’s Art Fund judging panel was composed of Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum Group; Rebecca Jones, BBC arts correspondent; Melanie Manchot, artist; Monisha Shah, independent media consultant and Art Fund trustee; and Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director.
"As soon as I walked into Tate St Ives I had an amazingly strong feeling that they’re doing something innovative," said Manchot. "The whole building, the galleries, the views all feel different – they have been given a new lease of life.
"The extension has not so much been an addition as a complete reimagining. For me, it was a profound experience."
