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Horniman named as Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022

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Horniman Museum exterior

London institution recognised for response to climate crisis, COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter

London’s Horniman Museum has been awarded the accolade of Museum of the Year 2022, awarded by Art Fund, the UK’s national art charity.

The ceremony took place at the Design Museum in London on Thursday 14 July, where director Nick Merriman collected the £100,000 prize, which is the largest museum prize in the world.

Speaking to blooloop in 2020 about what makes the museum unique, Merriman said: “The Horniman is the only museum in London where you can see nature and culture side-by-side at a global level.”

The Horniman evolves

The museum has been praised for the way it responded to a number of issues in 2021, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the global pandemic, and the pressing climate crisis. The Horniman’s Reset Agenda looked to shake up the museum’s activities in order to connect with a more diverse audience, reflecting its local community. It also challenged itself to contend with its colonial roots.

For example, it introduced a Climate and Ecology Manifesto and created the 696 Programme, which looked at the duty that public organisations have to support local music.

Horniman Natural History Gallery. Photo by Sophia Spring
Photo by Sophia Spring

Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director and chair of the judges, said: ‘The Horniman museum and gardens has now blossomed into a truly holistic museum bringing together art, nature and its myriad collections. Its values are woven through everything it now does, with a passionate team breathing life and meaning into every object, performance, plant and animal. In many ways it’s the perfect museum, and I would encourage everyone to go and experience all it has to offer.”

The judging panel also included Dame Diane Lees, director-general of the Imperial War Museums, artist and educator Harold Offeh, cultural historian and broadcaster Dr Janina Ramirez, and broadcaster Huw Stephens

A more sustainable approach

Speaking to blooloop shortly after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent protests, Merriman said:

“Black Lives Matter is, I feel, an entirely positive call for accelerated action from the museums and heritage sector. One that is long overdue. Perhaps we needed that external sharp push; it’s a shame we hadn’t done it of our own accord. But I’m pleased to see that it’s now strongly on the agenda.

“I want to maintain this impetus. What I don’t want is everybody to slump back to normal operations, as museums and heritage attractions get back to whatever normality pertains.”

children looking at an exhibition at Horniman Museum

On the Reset plan, he added:

“The operating model has been, each year, ‘We must target greater visitor numbers and greater income. And to make that happen, we must put in more capital build, more attractions.’ It is unsustainable; it always was. COVID has brought us up short to realise that. We must have a new, sustainable model.

“For me at the Horniman, and I hope for many of my colleagues, the new model should be about diversity of audiences rather than the growth of audiences. It should be about sustainable income generation and the focus on quality of experience.”

Four other museums were shortlisted for this year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year prize: the Story Museum in Oxford, the People’s History Museum in Manchester, Ty Pawb in Wrexham, and the Museum of Making in Derby. They each received a £15,000 prize.

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charlotte coates

Charlotte Coates

Charlotte Coates is blooloop's editor. She is from Brighton, UK and previously worked as a librarian. She has a strong interest in arts, culture and information and graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English Literature. Charlotte can usually be found either with her head in a book or planning her next travel adventure.

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