Yorkshire gallery beats Tate Modern to Museum of the Year 2017 prize
The Hepworth Wakefield has beaten out the Tate Modern in London to become the Art Fund Museum of the Year.
The largest museum prize in the world, the £100,000 award will go to the gallery, which the judges felt showed exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement in the last 12 months.
It won out of a group of five finalists including Lapworth Museum of Geology in Birmingham, National Heritage Centre for Horseracing & Sporting Art in Newmarket, Sir John Soane’s Museum and Tate Modern, both in London.
Each of the four other finalists receives a £10,000 prize in recognition of their achievements.
“Thank you to the people of Wakefield; we can all be proud of the inventive change that keeps occurring there,’ said Simon Wallis, director of the Hepworth in a heartfelt speech at the awards ceremony, held in the spectacular setting of the Great Court of the British Museum and attended by 470 guests.
The award was presented by broadcaster Jo Whiley, who was part of the judging panel with artist Richard Deacon; Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum; Munira Mirza, advisor on arts and philanthropy; and chair Stephen Deuchar, director of Art Fund.
“The Hepworth Wakefield has been a powerful force of energy from the moment it opened in 2011, but it has just kept growing in reach and impact ever since,” said Deuchar. “David Chipperfield’s building has proved a perfect stage – both for the display of collections and as the platform for a breathtaking sequence of special exhibitions, curated with determined originality by the talented curatorial team.
“The Hepworth serves its local community with unfailing flair and dedication and contributes centrally to regional tourism too. 2016 also saw the launch of The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture, which earned instant national status, and there are plans on the horizon for an ambitious garden project in the year ahead. It’s the museum everyone would dream of having on their doorstep.”
Previous winners include the V&A, London (2016), The Whitworth, Manchester (2015), and Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2014).
