London’s iconic museum of art and design was announced as the winner of the £100,000 Art Fund Museum of the Year prize by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge at a ceremony at the Natural History Museum.
ArtFund writes:
Stephen Deuchar, Art Fund director and chair of the judges, said: ‘The V&A experience is an unforgettable one. Its recent exhibitions, from Alexander McQueen to The Fabric of India, and the opening of its new Europe 1600–1815 galleries, were all exceptional accomplishments – at once entertaining and challenging, rooted in contemporary scholarship, and designed to reach and affect the lives of a large and diverse national audience. It was already one of the best-loved museums in the country: this year it has indisputably become one of the best museums in the world.’
BBC Writes:
The Victoria & Albert Museum has pledged to support smaller museums across the country after being named the Museum of the Year 2016.
Martin Roth, the V&A’s director, said he was ‘totally overwhelmed’ at the win and that it was a compliment to the work of museum’s staff.
‘There are a lot of smaller museums that do any amazing job,’ he told the guests in the Natural History Museum’s Hintze Hall, home to the cast of the famous Diplodocus skeleton.
‘We thought it’s great to be there on the shortlist, but the other ones deserve the prize and the money.’
