Industry News

Beamish, The Living Museum of the North has been announced as Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025.

Rhiannon Hiles, Beamish’s Chief Executive, was presented with the £120,000 prize – the largest museum prize in the world – by Phil Wang, comedian and judge for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, at a ceremony at the Museum of Liverpool tonight (Thursday, 26th June).

Rhiannon said: “We are incredibly excited and truly elated to be named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025.

“To receive such a prestigious award is a real honour, a phenomenal achievement, and is credit to the amazing people who make Beamish such a special place. Thank you to our fantastic staff and volunteers and to our communities, visitors, supporters and partners for their support.

“Our thanks to Art Fund for this award – it has been a privilege to be shortlisted alongside such fantastic museums, a huge well done to all of the finalists.”

Beamish is a renowned open-air museum that brings to life the North East of England's Georgian, Edwardian, 1940s and 1950s history, through immersive exhibits where visitors engage with costumed staff and volunteers, and experience regional stories of everyday life.

Chris Loughran, Chair of Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, said: “Communities sit at the heart of Beamish. They always have and they always will.

“We’re proud to be a place, a space and an anchor for all. Beamish is the North East’s leading visitor attraction but it also is the beating heart of our region’s identity and values. That’s why I am especially proud of the museum’s work to support wellbeing and learning activities, as a welcoming and inclusive place.

“Our next strategy will take us to 2035 and see Beamish play an even larger role in supporting the region’s communities and economy. We could not have achieved this without all of our staff, volunteers and supporters.”

Beamish, The Living Museum of the North was one of five finalists. The other shortlisted museums, all highly commended by the judges, were: Chapter (Cardiff), Compton Verney (Warwickshire), Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast) and Perth Museum (Perth & Kinross). Each finalist will receive £15,000. Together with £120,000 received by the winning museum, the total prize money for Art Fund Museum of the Year is £180,000.

In the past year, Beamish has completed its Remaking Beamish project, the biggest development in its 55-year history, which included the recreation of a 1950s Town, developed with community input from people with firsthand knowledge of the original spaces. The project involved over 32,000 community members, 14,338 schoolchildren, and 35,000 volunteer hours to create 31 new exhibits within the museum. The opening of aged miners’ homes, which tell the story of the pioneering welfare provision for retired miners in County Durham, also provide a dedicated space for the museum’s award-winning health and wellbeing work. The museum has been commended for its exceptional visitor experience, receiving the national Visitor Welcome Award at the 2024 Museums + Heritage Awards.

The museum provides innovative educational programming for 40,000 schoolchildren annually, using its collections and spaces to inspire learning across disciplines, from local history to science and engineering. In 2024, the museum welcomed over 838,630 visitors and remains the region’s most visited attraction and museum.

The 2025 judging panel, chaired by Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, includes: Rana Begum (Artist), Dr David Dibosa (Director of Research and Interpretation, Tate), Jane Richardson (Chief Executive, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales) and Phil Wang (Comedian, Writer, Actor). The judges visited each of the finalists to inform their decision-making.

The prize is funded thanks to the generosity of Art Fund’s members who buy a National Art Pass. Pass holders enjoy discounts and benefits at the finalist museums and hundreds more across the UK, whilst also supporting Art Fund’s vital work championing and supporting museums.

Art Fund annually shortlists five outstanding museums for Museum of the Year. The 2025 edition recognises inspiring projects and activity from autumn 2023 through to winter 2024. In addition to looking at the overall achievements of the organisation, the judges are tasked with identifying impactful projects that spotlight the wide range of remarkable people, including museum staff and volunteers, who bring museums to life by engaging with communities, families and younger visitors, artists and creatives.

Jenny Waldman, Director of Art Fund and chair of the judges for Art Fund Museum of the Year, said: “Beamish is a museum brought to life by people – a joyous, immersive and unique place shaped by the stories and experiences of its community. The judges were blown away by the remarkable attention to detail of its exhibits across a 350 acre site and by the passion of its staff and volunteers. With three quarters of adults in the North East of England saying museums make them proud of where they live, Beamish is a shining example of how museums enrich and celebrate local communities.

Warmest congratulations to Beamish on winning Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025. You have been a jewel in the crown of the North East for 55 years and I’m sure you’ll continue to delight visitors for many more to come.”