A unique open-air museum named the Art Fund Museum of the Year competed as the 2025 Art Fund Museum of the Year and was founded in 1970 by Dr. Frank Atkinson CBE, a renowned British museum director and curator. Inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, which Atkinson visited during the early ’50s, the museum aimed to document and display the vibrant and declining industrial communities in North East England. By 2019 to 2020, it managed to survive the COVID-19 closures through a series of online activities and innovative initiatives. Beamish became a key feature of the museum, showcasing replicas of the local past through costumed staff, creating an immersive ‘national庭’ that delves into the community’s pastes, songs, and店铺ues.
Beamish, a 350-acre site, is one of the UK’s largest and most lauded museum prizes, recently winners including the Horniman Museum, the Burrell Collection, and the Young V&A. The museum previously won the Museum of Liverpool’s Art Fund award in 2022 and Glasgow’s Burrell Collection in 2023. The Art Fund, which began in 2013, inaugural awardee in 2013, has beena melting pot of creativity, combiningRole of expertise, exhibits, and gestures to preserve local history, culture, and social connection.
A preview of Beamish’s program highlights showed scientists, historians, and artisans collaborating to recreate classical parades, concerts, and festivals. Jane Waldman, Art Fund’s director, praised Beamish for its remarkable innovations and the passion of its staff and volunteers, describing it as a joyful, immersive museum shaped by the community’s stories and experiences. The judges recognized Beamish’s imaginative exhibits, attention to detail, and the passion of its community, with a €120,000 award. Beamish’s success has made it a significant event in museum history, with other finalists receiving awards worldwide.
Be’am商业 colourful repository, which displayed over 6000 replicas of三年级 Museum in 2022. Beamish has also received £316,000 in investment backing, significantly exceeding its budget. This year’s competition focused on international curtains, raising hopes for a return to the 2013 lineup. Beamish remains a keyhead in museum culture, blending art and community.
The Euronews Culture team selected our favorite lesser-known museums across Europe as a reminder of global creativity and the enduring importance of museums in preserving education, cultural identity, and social connections. For International Museum Day on May 18, the team highlighted lesser-known tactile art museums. Our list provides a nod to this duality of creativity and preservation.
