Rural Community Gateway

The Art Fund Prize, formerly the Gulbenkian Prize, is awarded to the museum or gallery whose project demonstrates the most originality, imagination and excellence. Also in the running is the London Transport Museum and a British Library project.

Sue MacGregor, Chair of the Judges said, "We’re going to have an exciting and absorbing time visiting all ten museums and galleries. . . . Eventually, ten must be whittled down to one – but I know we’ll all have been bowled over by the imagination and inspiration we’ve encountered along the way."

Shetland Museum and Archives

The Shetland Museum and Archives opened in May 2007, with a predicted one year visitor number of 35,000. This was exceeded in three months, by 30th October, when 49,279 people had visited!

The purpose-built Shetland Museum and Archives houses collections of national and international significance. The ‘Heritage Hub’ preserves the rich culture and heritage of these most northerly islands and encourages visitors to discover more through the network of local heritage and cultural sites.

Two floors of displays tells Shetland’s story, from its geological beginnings to present day. A comfortable archives room allows the public to search through extensive archive collections. Other facilities include an auditorium, café restaurant, shop and learning room.

Jimmy Moncrieff, General Manager of the Shetland Amenity Trust, "It is a great accolade to get onto the Art Fund Prize long list, and a credit to the hard work of everyone involved in the project.  The Museum and Archives is so much more than a new building, which preserves and showcases our important historical collections.  It is at the heart of our community and is rapidly becoming synonymous with Shetland’s Heritage and Culture."

Funding, totalling £11.6 million for the Shetland Museum and Archives came from the Shetland Charitable Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, Shetland Enterprise, Historic Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Arts Council, Esmee Fairburn Foundation, Shetland Islands Council and Shetland Amenity Trust.

Find out more on the Shetland Museum and Archives website.

The Piers Arts Centre, Okrney

Following a major refurbishment, the Piers Arts Centre re-opened to the public in July 2007. The centre originally opened in 1979, to provide a home for an important collection of British fine art donated to ‘be held in trust for Orkney’ by author, peace activist and philanthropist Margaret Gardiner. Along with this special collection, the Arts Centre presents a continuous year round programme of changing exhibitions, events for education and enjoyment of the general public.

The refurbishment incorporated a semi-derelict building together with the two neighbouring and unconnected original buildings to form a unified complex. The development has provided a suit of new galleries and improved visitor services including a reference library, a meeting room and a shop. In six months after the reopening, 28,000 people have visited the Centre. Visitors have called it "A wonderful place to treasure and enjoy' and "Jewel in the North".

Key funders for the £4.5 million project included Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund, The Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Orkney Islands Council and Historic Scotland, as well as trusts and individuals and supporters.

Find out more on the Piers Arts Centre website.

Have your say

You can support your favourite project by going to the Art Prize Fund website and leaving your comments for the judging panel. Comments will be taken into consideration when they make their decisions. You can also vote in an independent poll on the Culture 24 website.

If you’ve visited either the Piers Arts Centre or the Shetland Museum and Archives, tell us about your visit by adding a comment to this article.

The full list

The full list of nominated museums and galleries are:

• The British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Bristol for ‘Breaking the Chains’
• The British Library, London for ‘Discover what we share’
• International Slavery Museum, Liverpool
• The Lightbox Gallery and Museum, Woking
• London Transport Museum, London
• The National Army Museum, London for ‘Helmand: The Soldier’s Story’
• The Piers Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney
• Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick, Shetland
• Topsham Museum, Exeter for the River Gallery Project
• Wellcome Collection, London

A shortlist of four will be announced in early April 2008, following judges’ visits. The winner will be announced on 22nd May 2008 at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

• Privacy
• Help
• Contact Us
• Disclaimer