Alistair Hardaker | Image: The Box, Plymouth (One Plymouth)
Plymouth’s The Box named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026, winning the £120,000 prize ahead of four shortlisted museums.
The Box in Plymouth has been named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026, winning the £120,000 prize ahead of four other shortlisted museums.
The other finalists were the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the National Gallery in London, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, and V&A East Storehouse in London. Each receives £20,000, bringing the total prize money to £200,000.
The prize was presented to Victoria Pomery, chief executive of The Box, by broadcaster and judge June Sarpong at a ceremony aboard the Cutty Sark at Royal Museums Greenwich on 25 June.
The Box is a museum, gallery and archive that tells the story of Plymouth through collections of more than 2 million artworks, objects, specimens and archival materials. It opened in September 2020 following a £48 million capital investment and has recorded more than 1.3 million visits in its first five years.
To mark its fifth anniversary in September 2025, The Box published a Social and Economic Impact Report. According to the museum, it has generated more than £100 million in health and wellbeing benefits and boosted Plymouth’s economy by £244 million since opening. Its schools programme reaches 10,000 children each year and has engaged 89% of Plymouth schools.
Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund and chair of the judges, said The Box is “a revelation in so many ways – a true jewel in the crown of the South West. In just five years, it 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.”
This summer The Box presents two exhibitions: Echoes of Us, featuring works from the Government Art Collection, which runs from 20 June to 20 September, and Gillian Ayres: A Life in Colour, bringing together 26 works, which runs from 4 July to 4 October.
The 2026 judging panel comprised Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums, historian Alice Loxton, broadcaster June Sarpong and Art Fund director Jenny Waldman. The award recognises projects and activity from autumn 2024 through to winter 2025.
