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Winners list 10 reasons to enter the Museums + Heritage Awards 

As the Museums + Heritage Awards 2025 entry deadline approaches, we asked past winners to share their insights on the value and impact of participating.

From enhanced funding opportunities to team motivation, here are 10 perspectives on why entering the awards in 2025 could be a game-changing decision for your organisation.

Advice from previous Museums + Heritage Awards winners 

“It’s a great opportunity to put your organisation on the map, measure yourselves against the best in the business – and whether you win or not, to celebrate the work and achievements of your team.”

Nik Wyness, Head of Marketing & Engagement at The Tank Museum

“The Museums + Heritage Awards are a brilliant opportunity to recognise and share the work of your staff, and to highlight your wonderful audiences, and it results in a wide range of unexpected benefits – not least an abundance of celebratory cake!”

Lucy Maycock, Formal Learning Manager at the Horniman Museum and Gardens

“Do it. Write from the heart. Get your enthusiasm out on the entry form and it will hopefully inspire the judges as much as it inspires you.”

Meghan Cole, Head of Retail Management at Shakespeare’s Globe’s gift shop

“Go for it – especially if you can have worked with a partner as it shows how much you value the partnership.” 

Esther Amis-Hughes, Community Engagement Manager at Leeds Museums and Galleries

“Don’t be intimidated – the award is not just for the big national museums. If you’ve done an innovative project, apply.”

Anna Lewis, Development Consultant at The Migration Museum

Artists Emmanuel Sugo and Kaia Laurielle with the Migration Museum’s Matthew Plowright and Harriet Costello at the Museums + Heritage Awards 2024

What it means to win 

“Over the last year we have been planning and working on a capital campaign for a national presence and a permanent home. This will consist of regional pop-ups, an enhanced digital presence and a new site in the City of London. As we speak to potential donors and new supporters who share our vision, this award has helped to validate the calibre of our team and the quality of the work we can and will deliver.”

Anna Lewis, Development Consultant at The Migration Museum

“Of all the awards we’ve won, this meant the most – but at the time we were genuinely very surprised to win it…. To be recognised in this way with such a high-profile award was a massive boost for all of us. 

“This showed that what we do matters – and hopefully signalled (to what often feels like a pretty metropolitan-centric industry) that there is plenty of great work going on in the provinces!”

Nik Wyness, Head of Marketing & Engagement at The Tank Museum

“Winning the Museums + Heritage Award has been a huge boost for the Learning team, and it has hugely increased the profile of our work.

“Internally, the timing of the win was perfect with a new Chief Executive starting just a few weeks later. And externally we find ourselves in demand with sector peers wanting to learn about our programmes. Especially satisfying have been the messages from all our local partners who wanted to share their pride in working with us.”

Lucy Maycock, Formal Learning Manager at the Horniman Museum and Gardens

“Winning the award was a confidence boost and we’ve been proudly displaying our bright pink trophy in the shop windows for all to see. It also cemented a growing sense of the value that retail brings to the Globe – we can say that we have the best cultural retail shop in the country!”

Meghan Cole, Head of Retail Management at Shakespeare’s Globe’s gift shop

“Winning this has meant everything. It was a thoroughly co-curated project, and it was not an easy process to ensure the display was completely authentic. The exhibition meant a huge amount to the Hip Hop Historian Society and communities in Leeds, which was all we wanted, but to see it recognised on a national stage validated our strong belief in co-produced community exhibitions, and I hope, will pave the way for more of them.” 

Esther Amis-Hughes, Community Engagement Manager at Leeds Museums and Galleries

Enter the Museums + Heritage Awards 2025

The Museums + Heritage Awards 2025 are now open for entries ahead of the ceremony next May.

To be among the winners in May, and to find out more about entering, visit the Museums + Heritage Awards website.