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Art Fund’s Museum of the Year is the biggest museum prize in the world. It is to the UK’s cultural institutions what Michelin stars are to chefs, Oscars are to actors and Grammys are to musicians. Last night (June 25) on board London’s Cutty Sark, its 2026 winner was revealed. This year’s champion and recipient of the £120,000 prize was The Box in Plymouth.
Since opening in 2020, The Box has been telling the stories of Plymouth through more than two million artworks, objects, specimens and archival materials. Judges called the The Box a ‘revelation in so many ways – a true jewel in the crown of the South West’. They chose it as their winner for its ‘ambitious and welcoming approach’ and its community work and dedication to making art and culture accessible to all.
A major part of what made The Box stand out was its programme of fifth birthday celebrations. It released a social and economic impact report that revealed it had contributed £100 million in health and wellbeing benefits, had engaged with 89 percent of the city’s schools and boosted Plymouth’s economy by £244m since opening. The Box also hosted three artist-led projects reimagining the future through the port city’s past and looking into how historic collections can challenge traditional museum narratives.
When Will We Be Good Enough? by Osman Yousefzada explored power and colonial history, Running and Returning by Jyll Bradley showed how archives can be made more accessible and the joyful Hello Sailor! by Jeremy Deller celebrated festivals as an integral part of art, culture and civic life.
Visit The Box this summer and you’ll find a major exhibition on abstract painter Gillian Ayres and the Echoes of Us exhibition, which presents works from the Government Art Collection by artists including Barbara Hepworth and Chris Ofili.
June Sarpong, broadcaster and one of this year’s judges, said: ‘What stood out so strongly with The Box was the sense of pride and connection it has created across Plymouth. From local groups such as the Windrush community to its partnerships with the university, it is a museum that genuinely belongs to the people it serves.
‘Through exhibitions that uncover overlooked histories to welcoming spaces for learning and creativity, The Box is reimagining what being a museum can mean.’
The Box was up against four other venues: The Fitzwilliam in Cambridge, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, The National Gallery and the V&A Storehouse. Each runner-up received £20,000 in prize money.
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