Four newly-opened museums and three Scottish attractions are among the 10 institutions to be included on the longlist for the annual Art Fund Prize, which is now in its 10th year.

The accolade, which was handed to the British Museum for its History of the World project last year, comes with a GBP100,000 cash prize and aims to celebrate excellence and innovation.

Among the new attractions to be longlisted are the Riverside Museum, Glasgow; Hepworth Wakefield, West Yorkshire; Turner Contemporary, Kent; and M Shed, Bristol.

A number of redeveloped sites also feature, including the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter.

Bath's Holburne Museum; Watts Gallery, Guildford; Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes; and National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, complete the longlist for this year's award.

Lord Smith of Finsbury, chair of the Art Fund Prize judges, said: "Whittling the achievements of Britain's museums over the past year down to a list of ten was an unbelievably challenging task.

"The outstanding quality of the projects that we finally settled on, however, perfectly encapsulates the vitality and dynamism of a part of our nation's cultural life that continues to innovate, push boundaries and engage the public, even in these straitened times."

A shortlist of four will be announced on 14 May, before a winner is crowned on 19 June. Meanwhile, a further 10 sites are in the running for the Clore Award for Museum Learning.

Details: www.artfundprize.org.uk

Image: M Shed, Bristol - (c) Neil Phillips Photography