Prize criteria and timetable

Entries for the 2009 Prize will be invited from 1st September 2008.
Check this site for further details in due course.

What are we looking for?

The single award of £100,000 will be presented each May during Museums and Galleries Month, to the museum or gallery whose entry, in the opinion of the judges:

• demonstrates originality, imagination and excellence;
• extends public access and understanding of works of art and artefacts of aesthetic interest from any era and culture;
• has the capacity to promote wider public appreciation of museums and galleries and their collections;
• shows imaginative development, display and interpretation of museum and gallery collections including the creative use of artists and designers to interpret non-art collections;
• demonstrates excellence of design, whether in exhibitions or buildings;
• has clearly won the support and enthusiasm of its visitors and users.

While entries should highlight particular projects or initiatives undertaken or completed during the previous calendar year, the judges will need to understand how these contribute to the museum or gallery’s work as a whole.

Whatever kind of project you are planning to submit, it is important to think about what the judges will come to see if it is selected. The long list visits will take place in February and March. If your project or exhibition will have finished by then, you will need to be able to provide a sufficient range of evidence, including visual material, for the judges to assess, and you should be able to show that the project has had some longer-term impact or legacy.

Check whether you are eligible

The Prize is open to all museums and galleries in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The Trustees normally expect applicants to be participants in the Museum Registration/Accreditation Scheme operated by The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).

Exceptions will be considered where organisations are in the public sector, or have charitable status, and whose activities are based on the care and interpretation of collections of historical, artistic or scientific interest. The Trustees’ decision on eligibility is final.

Only one entry may be submitted per individual museum or gallery. Where an organisation operates several museums and galleries, an entry may be submitted for each, but in drawing up the long list judges will not select more than one entry from the same multi-site service.

Entries may be submitted on behalf of collaborative projects between one or more organisations, but the entrant will be taken to be the lead museum or gallery ‘in association with’ its partners.

The Prize Administrator can give further guidance on eligibility.

Conditions

We will ask long-listed organisations that make an admission charge to offer free entry to Art Fund members for the duration of the competition.

We will ask all long-listed organisations that make a charge for temporary exhibitions to offer Art Fund members free entry to charging temporary exhibitions, or at least give them as generous a reduction as they offer to other supporters, such as their Friends.

We will ask all long-listed organisations to display an Art Fund leaflet stand and posters.

When to apply and what information to send

The opening and closing dates for submitting applications for the 2009 Prize will be announced in June 2008 and published on this website.

You will be able to download the application form or apply on-line.

In addition to completing the application form, you will be invited to submit a statement of not more than 2,000 words providing more detailed information about the project and why you believe it meets the criteria for the Art Fund Prize.

It is helpful to provide a small selection of relevant material such as photographs, publications etc. Please supply photographs on disc. You give us the right to use the photographs you send us, so you should ensure you have permission to use the photographs before you send them to us.
Please bear in mind when selecting material for submission, that all applications are copied for circulation to the judges, and that the more material you send, the greater the likelihood that some items will have to be omitted during this process. If you wish the judges to see originals of print such as leaflets, please supply eight copies.

We regret that we are unable to return copies of application materials.

What happens next?

Long list

All applications received are assessed by the Museum Prize Trustees, The Art Fund Director and the Prize Administrator, who recommend a list of around 20-25 entries for consideration by a panel of 7 independent judges. The judges then select a long list of 10. The public announcement of the long list is normally made in January or early February. At the same time we let the other entrants know that they were not successful on this occasion.

Criteria for selection

The criteria used throughout the assessment process are:

• Originality: does the project stand out from previous developments or activities in the field?
• Quality of presentation and content: e.g. excellence in building/exhibition design; imaginative/unusual approaches to curation/interpretation;
• Public enthusiasm: e.g. is there strong evidence of public appreciation and support for the project? Has it reached new audiences? Has it provoked debate on/encouraged re-assessment of the role of museums and galleries?
• Resources: does the project show inventive and effective use of the available resources, i.e. budget, staff and space?
• Will the project leave behind a continuing legacy?
  

If you are long-listed

This is a great opportunity to increase awareness of your organisation and your work both on a local and national level. We will provide PR briefing and support to help you to make the most of this. We will explore with you opportunities to host a press event in conjunction with the Prize sponsor, The Art Fund.

We will ask you to provide at least 4 captioned photographs illustrating aspects of your project. High-quality photographic images are essential in promoting the long list to the media, so we urge you to consider using professional photographers where possible.

We suggest that long-listed museums and galleries identify a ‘champion’ – perhaps someone well-known to local or national media – who will publicly support and endorse their project.

Following announcement of the long list, each of the candidates will be visited by at least 4 judges. The Prize Administrator will liaise with each organisation to arrange a convenient date. There will be one official visit to each museum or gallery on the long list, but additional visits may be made by judges privately and without notice.

Short list

When the long list visits are complete the judges will choose a short list of four museums or galleries to go forward as finalists. The short list will be announced in April. A final round of judges’ visits will take place so that by the end of the process, all judges will have visited all 4 finalists.

Winner

The winner will be announced at a reception in London during May - Museums and Galleries Month. They will receive £100,000 and will be the holder for one year of the Prize trophy.

The decision of the judging panel is final.

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