The Box in Plymouth Wins UK’s Museum of the Year Award
5June 27, 2026
The Boxin Plymouth, England, has been named the winner of this year’sUK Art Fund Museum of the Year Award. The annual£120,000 ($158,000) honor is the most prestigious museum prize in the nation and the largest of its kind in the world. The institution, located in the southwestern part of the country, beat out a shortlist comprising the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge; the Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, near England’s central eastern coast; and the National Gallery and the V&A East Storehouse, both in London. Thosemuseumswill receive£20,000 each. The top prize was presented to Box CEO Victoria Pomery by broadcaster and judge June Sarpong at a ceremony on board theCutty Sark, Royal Museums Greenwich, in London on the evening of June 25.
Opening its doors in September 2020, the nonprofit Box is home to a collection of about two million objects and artworks. it is owned by the Plymouth City Council and occupies a modern, purpose-built structure as well as the adjacent St. Luke’s Church. It has welcomed more than a million visitors to date and according to a 2025 report has contributed £244 million to the local economy, generated more than £100 million in health and wellbeing more than and engaged 89 percent of the city’s schools through programs that reach 10,000 children annually.
A judges’ panel lauded three artist-led projects—spearheaded respectively by Osman Yousefzada, Jeremy Deller, and Jyll Bradley—at the museum, commending the institution for “engag[ing] with local communities, reimagining the future through Plymouth’s past and examining how reframing historic collections can challenge traditional museum narratives.”
“In just five years, the Box has transformed how Plymouth’s remarkable collections are shared and experienced, creating a welcoming space for visitors and reaching beyond its walls into public spaces and almost every school in the city,” said Art Fund director and judges’ panel chair Jenny Waldman in a statement. “Its social and economic impact demonstrates what long-term investment in culture can achieve and is recognized and championed by Plymouth City Council.”