Previous winners

Horniman Museum & Gardens

2022

Founded in 1901, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in south London houses nationally regarded collections of anthropology, natural history and musical instruments, as well as an aquarium.

Firstsite is a contemporary visual arts organisation based in Colchester, where visitors can experience a diverse mix of historic, modern and contemporary art from around the world, in a fun and inclusive environment.

The 2020 winners

In a unique edition of the prize, we announced Aberdeen Art Gallery, Gairloch Museum, Science Museum, South London Gallery, and Towner Eastbourne as the five winners of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020. The five shared an increased prize of £200,000.

St Fagans Museum of National History

2019

One of Wales’ most popular heritage attractions, the museum stands in the grounds of St Fagans Castle and Gardens, a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house just outside Cardiff.

Tate St Ives

2018

Having undergone a breathtaking transformation project in close consultation with the community, Tate St Ives was Art Fund Museum of the Year 2018.

The Hepworth Wakefield

2017

Wakefield's art gallery has its toes in the gushing waters of the river Calder and was the winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2017.

V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum), London

2016

Winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2016, the V&A is home to more than two and a half million objects.

The Whitworth, Manchester

2015

Winner of the Museum of the Year 2015, the Whitworth impressed with its extensive £15 million redevelopment project.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

2014

Winner of Museum of the Year 2014, YSP is an international centre for modern and contemporary art inspired by the natural beauty of the historic 18th-century Bretton Estate.

William Morris Gallery, London

2013

The gallery was crowned the winner in 2013 for its major renovation and creative reinterpretation of Morris's life and work.

Finalists history

A list of the winners, nominated museums and judges from the past 10 years, can be found below.

Winners, shortlist and judges

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, David Batchelor, artist; Brenda Emmanus, broadcaster and journalist; Bridget McConnell, chief executive, Glasgow Life; Bill Sherman, director, Warburg Institute.

2018 Winner

Tate St Ives, Cornwall

Finalists
Brooklands Museum, Ferens Art Gallery, Glasgow Women's Library, The Postal Museum

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, Ian Blatchford, Rebecca Jones, Melanie Manchot, and Monisha Shah

2017 Winner

The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield

Finalists
Lapworth Museum of Geology, National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art, Sir John Soane's Museum, Tate Modern

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, Jo Wiley, radio DJ and television presenter, Munira Miza, adviser on arts and philanthropy, and Richard Deacon, sculptor

2016 Winner

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Finalists
Arnolfini , Bristol, Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London, Jupiter Artland, West Lothian, York Art Gallery

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, Gus Casely-Hayford, Curator and art historian, Will Gompertz, BBC Arts editor, Professor Ludmilla Jordanova, Historian and Cornelia Parker OBE RA, Artist

2015 Winner

The Whitworth, Manchester

Finalists
Dunham Massey (National Trust), Altrincham, IWM London, The MAC, Belfast, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, HM Tower of London

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of Art Fund, Michael Landy, artist, Alice Rawsthorn, design critic, Fiammetta Rocco, arts journalist and Axel Rüger, director of the Van Gogh Museum

2014 Winner

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

Finalists
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, East Sussex, Hayward Gallery, London, Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, Tate Britain, London

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, Sally Bacon, director of the Clore Duffield Foundation, Michael Craig-Martin, artist, Wim Pijbes, general director of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Anna Somers Cocks, founder of The Art Newspaper

2013 Winner

William Morris Gallery, London

Finalists
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, Horniman Museum & Gardens, London, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Cambridge, Narberth Museum, Pembrokeshire, Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees,

Judges
Chair of the judges: Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, Bettany Hughes, historian and broadcaster, Bob and Roberta Smith, artist, Sarah Crompton, arts editor in chief of the Daily Telegraph and Tristram Hunt, historian, writer, broadcaster and Labour MP for Stoke on Trent Central

2012 Winner

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter

Finalists
The Hepworth Wakefield, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Watts Gallery, Guildford, Surrey

Judges
Chair of the judges: Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE, theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster, Charlotte Higgins, journalist and author, Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Sir Mark Jones, art historian, Rick Mather, architect, Lisa Milroy, artist

2011 Winner

British Museum, London

Finalists
The Polar Museum, Cambridge, Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway, Roman Baths Museum, Bath

Judges
Chair of the judges: Chris Smith, Lord Smith of Finsbury, Professor Jim Al-Khalili OBE, theoretical physicist, author and broadcaster, Charlotte Higgins, journalist and author, Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, Sir Mark Jones, art historian, Rick Mather, architect, Lisa Milroy, artist

2010 Winner

Ulster Museum, Belfast

Finalists
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Shropshire, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry

Judges
Chair of the judges: Kirsty Young, broadcaster, Kathy Gee, museums and heritage adviser, Professor A C Grayling, professor of philosophy, Birkbeck College, London, Professor J Steve Jones, professor of genetics, University College London, Sally Osman, communications consultant and former director of communications, BBC, Lars Tharp, director, the Foundling Museum and BBC Antiques Roadshow expert, Jonathan Yeo, artist

2009 Winner

Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent

Finalists
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, Ruthin Craft Centre: The Centre for the Applied Arts, Denbighshire,

Judges
Chair of the judges: David Puttnam, film-maker and educationalist, Robert Crawford, outgoing director general of the Imperial War Museum, Sally Osman, communications consultant and former director of communications at the BBC, Grayson Perry, Turner Prize-winning artist, Marcus du Sautoy, mathematician and author , Maggie Semple, chief executive of The Experience Corps, Mary Ann Sieghart, journalist and broadcaster

2008 Winner

The Lightbox, Woking

Finalists
The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol, Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick, Shetland, Wellcome Collection, London

Judges
Chair of the judges: Sue MacGregor CBE, broadcaster, Keith Khan, head of culture for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, Diane Lees, director of the V&A Museum of Childhood and director designate of the Imperial War Museum, Christopher Lloyd CVO, former surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, Dr Mark Miodownik, head of Materials Research Group, King’s College London, Maggie Semple OBE, chief executive of The Experience Corps Ltd, Emma Soames, editorial director of SAGA Publishing