Date: 22 March 2005
The dust and damp of the coalface, the stench of a herring curing factory, the sounds of the steam age and the roar of the fastest car in the world are all part of the museum experience of the four Gulbenkian finalists, announced today.
Britain’s industrial heritage and economic regeneration are the dominating themes for this year’s Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year, the UK’s largest single arts prize. All are superb examples of museums listening to and working with their local communities. In every case, there is genuine local involvement and remarkable collaboration. The list demonstrates that museum-making is no longer a one-sided process but that great, modern museums are created when curators engage with their audiences.
Chair of the judges, Sir Richard Sykes, says,
‘In telling the stories of working people up and down the land, the Gulbenkian finalists have helped us understand and take pride in our own histories. Museums that tell these stories well have created a new audience of museum-goers and have turned the stereotype of an exclusive, quiet and intimidating experience on its head.’
The four finalists are:
Big Pit, National Mining Museum of Wales, Blaenafon – the £7 million redevelopment of a former colliery where 1300 people once worked forms a key part of the industrial history of Wales. Now part of a World Heritage Site, it offers visitors the chance to descend 300 feet to the depths of the mine and experience something of the reality of the miners’ daily work both above and below the ground.
Coventry Transport Museum – the culmination of a £7.5 million redevelopment that houses the largest British road transport collection in the world. The museum has become the critical link between the cityâ’s past and its future, helping to change people’s perceptions of not just the museum but Coventry itself.
Time and Tide, Museum of Great Yarmouth Life, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk – Located in a Victorian herring curing factory (a site nominated by local residents), the success of this new £4.7 million museum, set in one of the most socially deprived boroughs in the country, demonstrates what can be achieved through genuine consultation and the application of its findings.
Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, Co Durham – this new £11m railway museum celebrates Shildon's history as one of the world's oldest railway towns and is the first national museum in the north east of England. As well as providing public access to 70 vehicles from the national collection, many of which were formerly inaccessible, the new museum is a centre for community activity and training, and a key element in the economic regeneration of Shildon.
The Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year is, at £100,000, the biggest single arts prize in the UK and is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It is given annually to one museum or gallery, large or small, anywhere in the UK. The four finalists were drawn from a shortlist of ten that included Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Art Gallery in North Uist, Compton Verney in Warwickshire, the National Trust’s Back to Backs in Birmingham and the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon.
All four projects have received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund; Liz Forgan, Chairman of HLF, comments,
‘What interests me particularly about these finalists is that the common thread running through it is the UK's industrial heritage. The Heritage Lottery Fund has always recognised the important role that our industrial past has played for local communities as well as its ability to attract volunteers and visitors. I’m extremely pleased that HLF has helped fund all four of these innovative museums and I wish each of them the best of luck for the final decision.’
The winner will be announced during Museums and Galleries Month on Thursday May 26th at the Royal Institution of British Architects.
The judges for the 2005 Gulbenkian Prize are:
Sir Richard Sykes, Rector, Imperial College London (Chair)
Joan Bakewell CBE, broadcaster and writer
Sir Neil Chalmers, Warden, Wadham College, Oxford and former Director of the Natural History Museum
Michael Day, Chief Executive, Historic Royal Palaces
Sokari Douglas Camp, sculptor
Victoria Hislop, journalist and novelist
Dr Elizabeth Mackenzie, Vice-Chairman, British Association of Friends of Museums
Last year’s winner was the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh for its dramatic Landform by Charles Jencks – part sculpture, part garden, part land-art. The winner of the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize in 2003 was The National Centre for Citizenship and the Law housed in the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham.
Details of the four finalist museums are below.
Public comments on the four projects can be found at www.thegulbenkianprize.org.uk
Photographs are available. Richard Sykes and his fellow judges may be available for interview. Please contact Colman Getty.
For further information and press enquiries please contact:
Ruth Cairns, Anna Mayall or Liz Sich at Colman Getty PR
Telephone: 020 7631 2666 Fax: 020 7631 2699
Email: ruth@colmangettypr.co.uk
Out of hours: 07960 870867
The finalists of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year
Big Pit: National Mining Museum of Wales, Blaenafon
Peter Walker, Keeper and Mine Manager at Big Pit, says,
'Not only did we manage to attract a record number of visitors from home and abroad during 2004, but having our work commended by people within the Museum industry has reaffirmed the sense of achievement the completion of such a project gives.'
Garin Jenkins, ex-miner and former Welsh Rugby Union star, comments,
'This is a fantastic tourist attraction for Wales. Blaenafon is steeped in history – this is where the steel and coal industry began and it is very important for us to preserve our industrial heritage and to help our youngsters understand their own history and that of their families.'
Set in the heart of the World Heritage Site in Blaenafon, visitors, guided by ex-miners, descend 300 feet to the very depths of a real coal mine at Big Pit and experience for themselves the difficult conditions in which the miners worked day after day.
Above ground, all the colliery buildings, including the pithead baths, the winding engine house and blacksmith’s workshop have been sensitively restored and brought back to life with the sounds of the miners at work echoing from the past. Visitors can catch a glimpse of this in the Mining Galleries, where they get a chance to experience the sights and sounds of a modern coalface with the help of a 'virtual' miner guide.
Big Pit is one of six museums operated by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales and works with local and community partners to ensure the museum plays its part in the social and economic wellbeing of Blaenafon and the Welsh Valleys.
Visitor comments
'This project will talk to the people and trace the history of employment to put back a value on people’s lives.' David Morgans, Colchester, Essex
'I was brought up in the next valley over the mountain during the 1940s and 1950s when coal mining was at its peak … Big Pit Mine is a fine memorial to the country’s past industrial achievements.' Geoff Jones, Tamworth Staffordshire
' A brilliant museum … the guides were genuine mine workers who still had a great love and pride in the Welsh mining industry … My children enjoyed it so much, we came back a few days later.' Jane Hadler, Bristol
Key facts
Re-opened: February 2004
Development costs: £7 million
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund; Wales Tourist Board; Local Regeneration Fund; Garfield Weston Foundation; Lloyds TSB; Pilgrim Trust; SR & PH Charitable Trust; Coalfield Regeneration Trust; NMGW
Visitor figures: 140,000+
Admission charges: free
Opening hours: 9.30am-5.00pm daily; mid-February-28 November
www.nmgw.ac.uk/www.php/bigpit
Press contact: Kathryn Stowers on 01495 790311 mob: 07778 445936; kathryn.stowers@nmgw.ac.uk
Coventry Transport Museum
Joe Elliott, Chair of the Museum's Board of Directors, says,
'It is absolutely brilliant news that the Museum has reached the final stages of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year, particularly in light of the quality of the other finalist museums.'
Richard Noble OBE, the man who broke the World Land Speed Record in 1984 in Thrust2, comments,
'Both Thrust2 and its successor ThrustSSC are wonderfully cared for and displayed by the Museum. I have always believed it to be a jewel, representing Coventry’s transport and motor engineering heritage and now also the City’s regeneration. I will be rooting for it to win.'
Despite its pre-eminent collections, Coventry Transport Museum’s location in a quiet back street of Coventry meant that it was, until its redevelopment, one of Britain’s best kept secrets.
The £7.5 million task of revitalising the museum was completed in March 2004. The most dramatic change has been the creation of a brand new frontage for the Museum, facing out on to the City’s new Millennium Place.
Four new galleries have been added to existing displays and include an introduction to Coventry’s unique role in transport history, which pays tribute to the people who worked in the industry. Two particularly popular exhibits are the World Land Speed Record Cars, Thrust SSC and Thrust2.
The redevelopment has resulted in a much more integrated and cohesive experience for visitors. Residents, the museum says, who hadn’t set foot in the museum have been drawn in by its stronger outward presence; in the first six months since the relaunch, the Museum received over 180,000 visitors, beating all targets and doubling previous visitor figures.
Visitor comments
' As a ‘CovKid’, I am proud of Coventry’s rich history. The transport museum is a fantastic example of the kind of innovation and creativity Coventry has inspired.' Angela Foran, Church Lawford, Warwickshire
' If you have not visited it so far, then please do, because it will change your opinion of the museum as well as the City itself. Coventry has upped its ambitions and we are all proud to be part of the ambitious future.' Ahmed Syed, Coventry
' This Museum has become the critical link between the City’s past and its future.' Kevin Foster, Coventry
Key facts
Re-opened: March 2004
Development costs: £7.5 million
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund; ERDF; Coventry City Council; DCF; Local Charities
Visitor figures: 281,285 in first year, March 2004 to March 2005
Admission charges: free
Opening hours: 10.00am-5.00pm daily
www.transport-museum.com
Press contact: Lucy Rumble on 024 7683 2425; out-of-hours 01327 264813; lucy.rumble@coventry.gov.uk
Time and Tide, Museum of Great Yarmouth Life, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Rachel Kirk, Area Museums Officer, comments,
'Following the opening of Time & Tide we are re-setting the course for heritage in Great Yarmouth. This announcement testifies to the credibility of Yarmouth's heritage, the work that has been done to represent it and the hugely positive and enthusiastic manner in which it has been received – we couldn't be happier.'
The Mayor of Great Yarmouth, Mike Taylor, says
'I'm glad that the judges have confirmed what we already know – we've got the best there is.'
Time and Tide is located in a Victorian herring curing factory and is the result of ten years’ work in consultation with the local community. It tells the story of Great Yarmouth and celebrates its maritime and fishing heritage, bringing to life its herring curing industry and the lives of the people who worked there. Located in an area of significant deprivation, the museum successfully provides a dislocated and divided community with a sense of place in history, communal identity and self esteem.
Every stage of the museum’s development – its location, its name, its display themes, its design – evolved from extensive community consultation. The museum found all its assumptions about what people expected or wanted to a see in a museum challenged; these findings, the museum says, have changed its working practices forever. 'To make successful history for all our audiences, we realised we had to find ways of allowing them to find a personal past.'
Visitor comments
'A gem of a museum, every twist and turn revealing a new perspective both of the original building and history of the town.' David Swan, Maidstone, Kent
' Wow. Visiting this museum took me back to my schooldays …it has exceeded all expectations.' Suzanne Wells, Great Yarmouth
' I wish I had had access to this superb community resource when I was teaching the children about local history. From what was, frankly, an eyesore, an attractive and interactive history of Great Yarmouth has been developed in the old herring curing works.' Mark Dorsett, Caister on Sea, Norfolk
Key facts
Opened: July 2004
Development costs: £4.7 million
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund; East of England Development Agency; ERDF; Great Yarmouth Borough Council
Visitor figures: 18,500 from July 2004 to 28 February 2005
Admission charges: £5.45 adults; concessions £4.90; young person £3.50
Opening hours: 10.00am-5.00pm daily
www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk
Press contact: Alison Smith on 01603 495895
Locomotion: The National Railway Museum at Shildon, Co Durham
George Muirhead, Museum Manager at Locomotion, says,
' Reaching the final stage of this prestigious arts award is a tremendous achievement. Few words can describe how delighted and proud everyone involved in the partnership venture truly is. We would like to thank the public who have shown overwhelming support for us through comments submitted to the Gulbenkian website and we would urge them to continue to do so in the run up to the final decision.'
Alan Shearer, an enthusiastic supporter of Locomotion, comments,
' Locomotion is an innovative museum and a credit to the North East … It is the area's only National Museum and has broken all expected visitor figures to further highlight its pulling power and emphasise its popularity … I'm sure that Locomotion would be a worthy winner of the Gulbenkian Prize as UK Museum of the Year.'
Locomotion has given a permanent home to over 70 vehicles from the national collections whilst creating a sense of identity and engagement for the communities in Shildon and Sedgefield and beyond. Visitor figures have already exceeded expectations.
Shildon was the world’s first railway town and the closure of its Wagon Works in 1984 could have been a death knell to the area. A vibrant partnership between the National Museum of Science & Industry and Sedgefield Borough Council helped to ensure that Shildon’s history as a thriving industrial rail town is not forgotten.
Incorporating the existing Timothy Hackworth Museum at Shildon and built on the site of disused industrial railway sidings, the museum's highlights include the original Sans Pareil, the ground-breaking Advanced Passenger Train Experimental, and a magnificent NER Snow Plough, housed in the Collection building, a showcase for sustainability. It truly brings the heritage of the North East alive; the sense of local enthusiasm and pride in Locomotion is tangible, with locals, as well as visitors from afar, using the museum regularly.
Visitor comments
'This is what the museum means to the people of Shildon. Recognition of the part we played in the history of the railways. It is a memorial to the thousands of men who worked at Shildon Shops. Shildon is alive to the sound of trains again.' Stella Taylor, Shildon
'Great museum. Eco-friendly, family friendly, disabled friendly – in fact, very friendly all round.' Janet Stevenson, Nottingham
' The best feature is that the visitor does not need to be a railway ‘anorak’ to appreciate the marvels brought back to life there. I am besotted by the place.' Les Joss, Sedgefield, County Durham
Key facts
Opened: September 2004
Development costs: £11 million
Funders: Heritage Lottery Fund; ERDF; ONE NorthEast; Sedgefield Borough Council; DCMS; Network Rail; Northern Rock Foundation; Energy Saving Trust in partnership with the DTI; Friends of the National Railway Museum; Arts Council England; County Durham Economic Partnership; Jarvis Rail; Dunns Haulage; The National Railway Museum.
Visitor figures: 94,181 from 25 September 2004 to 27 February 2004
Admission charges: free
Opening hours: 10.00am-5.00pm daily
www.nrm.org.uk
Press contact: Keira Meheux on 01904 686271; keira.meheux@nmsi.ac.uk
Notes to Editors
Public comments on the four projects can be found at www.thegulbenkianprize.org.uk
Over sixty applications were received from museums and galleries all over the UK.
The full shortlist, announced in January, for The Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year was:-
- Museum of Barnstaple & North Devon for Shapland & Petter of Barnstaple: 150 years
- Big Pit, National Mining Museum of Wales, Blaenafon
- National Trust West Midlands for Back to Backs, Birmingham
- The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge for its Courtyard Development
- Compton Verney, Warwickshire
- Coventry Transport Museum
- Time and Tide, Museum of Great Yarmouth Life, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk .
- Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Art Gallery, Lochmaddy, North Uist for its Carn Chearsabhagh Project
- The Foundling Museum, London
- Locomotion: the National Railway Museum at Shildon, Co Durham
The Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year is administered by The Museum Prize, a charitable company created in 2001 by the Campaign for Museums, the Museums Association, the National Art Collections Fund and National Heritage. These organisations agreed to put aside award schemes they formerly ran (including the National Heritage Museum of the Year) and lend their support to the prize.
The Museum Prize is chaired by Lady Cobham. Trustees of The Museum Prize include representatives of all four founding organisations.
The Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The UK Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is responsible for grant aid in the UK and Republic of Ireland and runs funding programmes in arts, social welfare, education and Anglo-Portuguese cultural relations.
The Foundation’s founder, Calouste Gulbenkian, was one of the most distinguished private collectors in the world. The Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon is well-known and loaned several major pieces of Lalique jewellery to the V & A’s highly acclaimed Art Nouveau exhibition in 2000 and simultaneously mounted a major exhibition of its treasures at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is supporting The Gulbenkian Prize by guaranteeing prize money of £100,000 a year over five years; it is also providing some of the funding for administration.
The Gulbenkian Prize is supported by The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the national development agency working for and on behalf of museums, libraries and archives and advising government on policy and priorities for the sector. MLA supports the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year under Renaissance, its ground-breaking programme to transform England’s regional museums. For the first time ever, investment from central government is enabling regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in support of education, community development and economic regeneration. For more information, visit www.mla.gov.uk
The Gulbenkian Prize is also supported by Sir Christopher Ondaatje CBE, who is passionately interested in raising awareness of the range and quality of museums and galleries in Britain.
Additional sponsors of the 2005 Prize are
- National Heritage: the Museums Action Movement is a charity founded to support and promote museums and galleries in the UK, and to represent the interests of their visitors and other users. It launched the original Museum of the Year Awards in 1973.
- Blackwall Green (Jewellery and Fine Art) – Specialist insurance brokers to museums and galleries both in the United Kingdom and Europe.
- Lloyds TSB Private Banking
- Gulbenkian Prize Patrons: Sir Martyn Arbib and Consensus Business Group and Endsleigh Insurance (Brokers) Ltd
Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate provided assistance towars Judges' Scottish travel costs
Assistance in kind provided by:
24 Hour Museum
DFJ Vinhos Lda – 'The New Portugal', UK Pffoce D & F Wines
Farrer & Co
GLI Calderhead
Quentin Blake CBE
The Museums Association
Waitrose Limited
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. It has supported more than 15,000 projects, allocating over £3 billion across the UK.
For further information and press enquiries please contact:
Ruth Cairns, Anna Mayall or Liz Sich at Colman Getty PR
Telephone: 020 7631 2666 Fax: 020 7631 2699
Email: ruth@colmangettypr.co.uk
Out of hours: 07960 870867
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