Sir David Attenborough

Recognised for a lifetime of supporting museum and heritage projects, Sir David Attenborough was named winner of the Special Recognition Award. One of his most well–known museum projects was Natural History Museum Alive – a 2014 BAFTA-winning documentary which used CGI imagery to bring to life several of the extinct animal skeletons in the museum.

Sir David Attenborough has long been an advocate for the museum sector

Matthew Tanner, chief executive, SS Great Britain Trust

The £7.2m (US$8.9m) museum explores the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a man known as one of the greatest minds in the history of engineering, hailed as the “genius who built Britain”. The new attraction, designed by local firm Alec French Architects, is made up of six galleries, which sets out a collection of 150 Brunel artefacts – many never seen by the public – offering an insight into his life, family, interests and creative mind.

Being Brunel brings together the world’s most significant collection of one of engineering’s greatest minds

The groundbreaking exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which was exacerbated by large scale movement of troops at the end of the war which contributed to the rapid spread of the disease around the world, infecting more than half a billion people worldwide and killing 50–100 million, including 250,000 Britons.

The exhibition explores the scale of the 1918 pandemic

Dr Amy Frost, senior curator, Bath Preservation Trust

The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is dedicated to the many achievements of the Herschels, who were distinguished astronomers as well as talented musicians. The Wonder Women of Space exhibition ran for nine months in 2018 and cost just £980 (US$1,215) to put on. An associated programme of activities included space-themed workshops, stargazing, school visits, talks and opportunities to meet international astronauts and scientists attracted visitors from all over the world, with the museum enjoying a 31 per cent increase in visitor numbers and a 68 per cent increase in followers on social media.

The exhibition celebrates female role models in space and engineering

Andrew Bolton

Organised by the museum’s Costume Institute in collaboration with the Department of Medieval Art, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination explores how the religion’s imagery and symbolism have impacted contemporary haute-couture and ready-to-wear designs.

The exhibition’s assistant curator, Mellissa Huber, accepted the award

Ties between fashion and the Catholic church are examined in the exhibition

Beau James,

Gapu-Monuk Saltwater: Journey to Sea Country tells the story of the Yolnu people of North-East Arnhem Land, their fight for recognition of Indigenous land and sea rights and the Blue Mud Bay legal case. Visitors see a host of vibrant images including ancestral beings, ancient mariners, symbolic icons and a host of spiritual creatures including snakes, crocodiles, fish, turtles and birds, all set against traditional sacred designs representing fresh, tidal and saltwater.

Gapu (water), monuk (salt), describes Saltwater in the Yolnu matha language

Carolyn Blackwood

Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW and Imperial War Museums (IWM), in October 2018, Sir Peter Jackson debuted a new film using original footage from IWM’s archive alongside BBC and IWM interviews with servicemen who fought in World War One.

Called They Shall Not Grow Old, the footage featured has been colourised, converted to 3D and transformed with modern production techniques.

They Shall Not Grow Old was created using original footage of World War I from IWM’s archives

Angela McConville

The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, reopened on 23 March 2019 after a two year National Lottery Funded conservation project, which brought its magnificent painted interior back to life.

The Painted Hall has been referred to as the ‘Sistine Chapel of the UK’

Angela McConville

Focusing specifically on primary schools, the Leeds Curriculum offers one opportunity to redress the balance of the curriculum in schools which face increasing pressure from national policy changes to move away from arts education.

Leeds Curriculum is a one-stop resource for primary school teachers across the region

Sir Michael Dixon

Never before put on public display outside of London, the Natural History Museum’s iconic 26-metre-long Diplodocus cast, “Dippy”, is travelling the UK until late 2020 on a nationwide tour.

‘Dippy’ has been touring the UK

Adam Koszary

Using meme culture and a collection of farmyard animals, the Museum of English Rural Life has soared into the upper echelons of the social media stratosphere. Its launch point was the day it tweeted out an image of Exmoor Horn aged ram along with the caption “look at this absolute unit”, receiving hundreds of thousands of shares online (for more, see the Q2 2019 edition of Attractions Management).

WINNER (t/o over £500k)
BALTIC Shop, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art – Shop Refurbishment
Opened in 2006, shop at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art underwent a transformation in 2018 with a new interior in the same location to coincide with the Great Exhibition of the North. The revamped store offers a range of Baltic souvenirs and North East England-themed gifts.

WINNER (t/o under £500k)
Florence Nightingale Museum – Retail Transformation
The new store aims to offer a unique retail experience with its Florence Nightingale and nursing inspired product ranges, including the introduction of new lines and rare one-off items. The judging panel described the work as a “visionary and inspirational transformation”.

John Jenkins

John Jenkins MBE was a young man when he landed on Gold Beach on June 8 1944 during the D-Day landings. Now 99 and walking with a stick, Jenkins acts as a volunteer for the D-Day Story in Portsmouth, UK, which completed a £5m (US$6.1m) Lottery-funded refurbishment in March 2018.

Nicola Bird

Multaka-Oxford aims to create volunteer opportunities and to use museums and collections as a ‘meeting point’ for bringing people together. The Arabic for ‘meeting point’, the Multaka scheme gives refugees from countries including Syria and Iraq volunteer jobs as museum tour guides in Oxford.

Multaka-Oxford is being delivered jointly by the Pitt Rivers Museum and the History of Science Museum