Museum of the Year Award: Have you visited the top five best UK museums?

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From world-famous institutions to local hidden gems, we explore the best museums across the UK and what makes them stand out in a time of funding cuts and rising visitor demand.

Transcript

00:00Five museums from across the UK, all bursting with energy and fresh ideas, are in the running

00:06for the country's biggest museum prize, and it can give us a pretty good must-visit

00:10list of museum spots.

00:13The Art Fund Museum of the Year Award, worth £120,000 to the winner, has unveiled its

00:192025 shortlist.

00:21Together, the list represents the best of British museums today, from immersive heritage

00:26experiences to cutting-edge contemporary art and revitalise community spaces.

00:33First up is Beamish, known as the Living Museum of the North.

00:37It brings history to life with period dress staff, vintage trams and scenes from everyday

00:42life in the 1820s through to the 1950s.

00:46Next Perth Museum, which reopened in March after a £27 million transformation, is home

00:52to the legendary Stone of Destiny, now back in Perthshire for the first time in seven

00:57hundred years.

00:58Over in Belfast, the Golden Thread Gallery reopened in a striking new venue in August.

01:04A former Gas Corporation showroom now housing two major gallery spaces, and Northern Ireland's

01:10first dedicated visual art archive and research library.

01:15Chapter in Cardiff is a multi-arts hub with theatres, cinemas, galleries and a community

01:20garden.

01:21It champions inclusivity and has launched new residency schemes offering free studio space

01:26to local artists.

01:28And Compton Verney, set in Capability Brown designed Parkland, has added a striking sculpture

01:33trail featuring works by Louise Bourgeois and Permindecor to its permanent collection.

01:39But the celebration of UK museums comes at a time of deep concern across the sector.

01:44The government has announced £270 million in funding to keep cultural institutions afloat,

01:51tackle crumbling buildings and to help strengthen long-term resilience.

01:56Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy unveiled the funding, marking 60 years since the UK's first arts

02:02white paper.

02:03She said the investment would stop beloved institutions from closing, citing leaking roofs, closed stages

02:09and buckets catching drips at theatres and galleries across the country.

02:14Seventeen of the country's largest venues, including the British Museum and the National Gallery,

02:20will share a pot of £120 million, alongside a five percent rise in their annual grants, worth

02:27more than £15 million in total.

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