Final shortlist of four announced for Gulbenkian Museum Prize. I'm keeping
my fingers crossed for the ss Great Britain in Bristol, UK!!
Regards
Rosemary Silvester
Bristol Magpies,
Supporters Group Bristol's Museums, Galleries & Archives
Short list for Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries announced
12/04/06
An adventurously designed museum that houses Roman treasures and a new
exhibition by contemporary artist Grayson Perry; the world?s greatest
collection of preserved medical specimens graphically demonstrating a
catalogue of diseases; a new underground environmentally sustainable
gallery at a beautifully landscaped culture park; and one of Britain?s most
important historic ships make up the short list for the 2006 Gulbenkian
Prize for museums and galleries.
The Gulbenkian Prize is the UK?s biggest single arts prize at £100,000
given annually to one museum or gallery anywhere in the UK, regardless of
its size or budget. The short list was chosen from a long list of ten that
included the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Wales; Concorde at the
Museum of Flight in Edinburgh; and the new Roald Dahl Museum and Story
Centre at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire.
The short list of four is as follows:
Brunel?s ss Great Britain, Bristol ? The ship superbly preserved by a £11.3
million project is short-listed as it celebrates the 200th anniversary of
the birth of the great British engineer. In a real rescue story, the ship
was towed back from the Falkland Islands to its dry dock in Bristol where
its condition started to deteriorate dramatically. Now resting on a giant
dehumidification system beneath a glass ?sea?, Brunel?s resplendent vessel
was ?re-launched? in July 2005 and brings the Victorian maritime world to
life though objects as small as the captain?s gold ring to the soaring
mainstay and accessible crow?s nest.
The Collection: Art & Archaeology in Lincolnshire, Lincoln ? This new £12.5
million museum displays fine art and artefacts from Roman, Viking and
Medieval eras. The Collection was created after local residents formed an
action group to lobby councillors to build a new museum to house over 2
million archaeological objects. The result is a collection of
internationally significant treasures covering over 250,000 years of
history in Lincolnshire, including a 3x3m Roman mosaic found at the bottom
of the museum?s lift shaft.
The Hunterian Museum, London ? A £3.1 million project completely renewing
the permanent galleries of the oldest and most important medical collection
in the world. At the heart of the museum is the collection of 18th
century surgeon John Hunter, the pioneer of scientific surgery. With
collections that span 200 years of medicine, natural history and the arts,
The Hunterian is a sometimes controversial revelation of anatomical
practice.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, Yorkshire ? The creation of The
Underground Gallery, a new space for temporary exhibitions, costing £2.75
million. The gallery, was built beneath the sloping lawns of the 18th
century Bothy Garden in order to protect the landscaped park above. Natural
light comes from a glazed concourse and it is an example of how a
contemporary eco-friendly building can blend into its historic
surroundings. The gallery has extended the range of media the YSP can
show, which now includes works on paper, light installations and video
artworks.
Professor Lord Winston, chair of the 2006 judges, says:
"The panel have had a wonderful time visiting ten outstanding museums on
the long list. Selecting only four for the short list was hard, but those
chosen all show innovation, variety and excitement, and each is devoted to
a special area of importance but with wide interest. This remarkable short
list shows that the museum world in Britain is truly vibrant and alive. It
has been a privilege for the judges to see the enthusiasm and pleasure that
each of these museums generates amongst its visitors.."
The 2006 judging panel comprises:
Lord Robert Winston, esteemed scientist and broadcaster as Chair
Michael Day, Chief Executive, Historic Royal Palaces
Ekow Eshun, writer, journalist and broadcaster and artistic director of the
ICA
Diane Lees, director of the V&A Museum of Childhood
Dr Elizabeth Mackenzie, Vice-Chair, British Association of Friends of
Museums
Joanna Moorhead, journalist and author
Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster.
Dr Elizabeth Mackenzie, as a trustee of the ss Great Britain, has now stood
down as a judge. She took no part in the judges? long-listing or
short-listing discussions concerning ss Great Britain.
The Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries 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 other museums on the longlist were the Cambridge &
County Folk Museum, the Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms, Dorchester
Abbey Museum, The Concorde Experience at the Museum of Flight, the National
Waterfront Museum in Swansea and the Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre.
Of the four to be short-listed, The Collection, The Hunterian Museum and
Brunel?s SS Great Britain have received funding from the Heritage Lottery
Fund. Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, comments,
?The Gulbenkian Prize celebrates excellence and innovation in museums
across the UK - this year the Heritage Lottery Fund is extremely proud to
have funded three out of the four Gulbenkian finalists. This is an
extremely diverse group of museums, spanning from maritime heritage to
medical history. Each one is a worthy and fascinating nominee and I wish
them all luck for the final decision.?
The winner will be announced during Museums and Galleries Month on Thursday
May 25th at the Royal Institution of British Architects.
Last year?s winner was Big Pit: National Mining Museum of Wales in
Blaenafon, a preserved coal mine where visitors can descend 300 feet
underground to experience the working conditions that generations of miners
endured daily. The 2004 winner was the landscape sculpture Landform by
Charles Jencks at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The
inaugural prize was awarded to the National Centre for Citizenship and the
Law at Nottingham?s Galleries of Justice in 2003 for the education
programme it ran with schools, young offenders and the local community.
-ends-
www.thegulbenkianprize.org.uk
----------------------
R Silvester, School Chemistry
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