Open

Art Fund Museum of the Year 2027

The world’s biggest museum prize is back. Could it be you?

Applications are open until 7 January 2027.

Art Fund Museum of the Year is the world’s biggest museum prize. It champions what museums do, encourages more people to visit, and gets to the heart of what makes a great museum. The prize recognises and celebrates outstanding work and projects across UK museums and provides a platform to encourage audiences to engage with museums far and wide.

Art Fund Museum of the Year is made possible thanks to Art Fund's members who buy a National Art Pass, alongside the many funders and individuals who generously support Art Fund's work. Together, we’re championing the vital role museums play in society and showcasing how they can inspire and bring communities together.

This year’s judges will shortlist five exceptional organisations who will be in the running for the £120,000 winner prize money. All shortlisted museums will receive the full support of Art Fund throughout the prize campaign, which includes national press coverage opportunities, bespoke marketing support, and other exciting collaborations and partnerships to help you reach more audiences. The remaining four finalists will each receive £20,000.

Application theme

For the 2027 prize, we want to hear from applicants who through art, collections and programmes, bring communities together and connect audiences with the ideas, places and stories that matter to them.

To find out more information about how to apply, and eligible activity, please read the guidance for applicants.

Hear from past finalists

Read our series of short interviews with past finalists, who tell us about the impact of being shortlisted for the prize. New interviews will be available to read throughout the application window.

Who can apply

To be eligible to apply for Art Fund Museum of the Year please check you meet the following criteria before starting your application:  

  • The activity that your application focuses on must have predominantly taken place between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2026.

  • For applications that focus on reopening, the reopening must have completed by 1 July 2026, to allow for at least 6 months of visitor data to have been collected.

  • You must be able to demonstrate positive change and impact of the activity and connect it to the application theme.  

  • You must be based in the UK and be either a public museum, gallery, historic house, library or archive which has spaces for the public to visit and experience the visual arts or other object-based collections.  

  • You must be able to demonstrate that you usually operate to best practice standards or have a good track record in delivering high quality public activity.  

For full eligibility details please see the guidance for applicants.

Other useful resources:

Key deadlines

How to apply

Your application

Read the guidance and other resources

Download the guidance for applicants which explains more about what we’re looking for in 2027, the application process, and how to apply.  

Guidance for applicants

Get in touch

If you haven’t found what you need in the guidance document, get in touch with prize manager Emma Mills (emills@artfund.org) to set up a call to discuss further. 

Get in touch

Submit your application

This year we will be accepting all application forms and supporting documents via email. 
 
You can send your completed application form to programmes@artfund.org (with emills@artfund.org in the cc line). Please ensure the application form remains as a Word file (not a PDF) as this will enable us to process the information.

Application form

After you've applied

Acknowledgement of application

The prize project manager will be in touch to let you know the outcome of your application and the next steps.

© Art Fund 2026. “Art Fund” is the operating name of the National Art Collections Fund, a charity registered in England and Wales (209174) and Scotland (SC038331)