The Museum Prize Trust

The Art Fund Prize is administered by The Museum Prize, a charitable company created in 2001 by representatives of National Heritage, the Museums Association, The Art Fund and the Campaign for Museums

These organisations agreed to put aside award schemes they formerly ran (including National Heritage’s Museum of the Year) and lend their support to this single major prize.

From 2003 to 2007 the main funder of the Prize was the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch. The Art Fund has taken over sponsorship of the Prize from 2008.

The trustees of The Museum Prize are:

• Penelope, Viscountess Cobham (Chairman)
• Sandy Nairne
• James Naughtie
• Eleanor Updale

and, representing the founding member organisations:

• James Bishop, National Heritage
• Ylva French, Campaign for Museums
• Mark Taylor, Museums Association

For the duration of its sponsorship, The Art Fund has observer status at meetings of the Museum Prize Board.

Founding member organizations

National Heritage: the Museums Action Movement was founded as an independent registered charity to support and promote museums and galleries in the UK, and to represent the interests of their visitors and other users. It launched the original Museum of the Year Awards in 1973.
www.nationalheritage.org.uk

The Art Fund is the UK’s leading art charity. It has 80,000 members. Since its foundation in 1903, The Art Fund has helped UK public collections acquire 750,000 works of art. In 2003 The Art Fund offered £5 million to museums and galleries and distributed 16 gifts and bequests. The Art Fund is independent of government and raises money from membership subscriptions, donations and legacies.
www.artfund.org

The Campaign for Museums is a registered charity created in 1997 to promote museum visiting and raise the profile of museums and galleries. The Campaign for Museums organises Museums and Galleries Month (MGM) annually in May with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and the Arts Council. In addition, the Campaign for Museums organises marketing conferences and seminars as well as playing an active part in the museum and heritage sector.
www.campaignformuseums.org.uk
www.mgm.org.uk

The Museums Association is the independent body representing museums and galleries within the United Kingdom and those who work in them. As a charitable membership body it involves and informs all sides of the museum and gallery community from curators to marketers, and from trustees to educators. The Association publishes Museums Journal, Museum Practice and Museums Yearbook as well as running conferences and seminars, monitoring ethical and professional standards and lobbying on behalf of museums and galleries.
www.museumsassociation.org

Registered Charity no. 1093174 Company no. 4218701
Registered in England and Wales

Registered office:
The Museums Association
24 Calvin Street
London E1 6NW

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