‘True jewel’ museum and gallery wins UK award

A museum and art gallery has won a national award for being “a leading example of what a civic museum can achieve”.

The Box, in Plymouth, was named the 2026 Art Fund Museum of the Year at a ceremony on the Cutty Sark at Royal Museums Greenwich, London, where it also received the £120,000 prize fund.

Judges said it had generated more than £100m in health and wellbeing benefits, boosting Plymouth’s local economy by £244m and reaching almost nine in 10 of the city’s schools.

Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, who chaired the judging panel, described The Box as a “true jewel in the crown of the South West”.

The museum, owned by Plymouth City Council, has more than two million artworks, objects and archival materials in its collection.

Since it opened in September 2020, it has welcomed more than 1.3 million visitors.

The Box celebrated a “record-breaking” 2025/2026 season, with 356,000 visits, beating its target of 300,000, following the success of its Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy and Journeys with Mai exhibitions.

Waldman said it had “transformed how Plymouth’s remarkable collections are shared and experienced”.

The other four finalists were The National Gallery and V&A East Storehouse, both in London, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, and Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, with each one set to receive £20,000.

June Sarpong OBE, broadcaster and judge for the awards, said what had stood out with The Box was “the sense of pride and connection it has created across Plymouth”.

She said: “It is a museum that genuinely belongs to the people it serves.

“Through exhibitions that uncover overlooked histories to welcoming spaces for learning and creativity, The Box is reimagining what being a museum can mean.”

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