Art Fund Prize longlist out

Ten entries have been longlisted for this year’s annual Art Fund Prize, celebrating museums and galleries.

Formerly known as the Gulbenkian Prize, the award will recognise one of the ten entries, which include the Wellcome Collection and The London Transport Museum.

Liverpool’s brand new International Slavery Museum with interiors by Redman Design, and the newly refurbished London Transport Museum, with exhibition design by Ralph Applebaum Associates, both made it on to the list.

Also in the running is the £7m design museum The Lightbox, which opened last year in Woking, and was designed by London Eye architect Marks Barfield and Real Studios.

The Pier Arts Centre on Orkney, designed by Reiach and Hall Architects made the longlist, as did the Shetland Museum and Archives, created by architect BDP.

They are joined by the Topsham Museum’s new River Gallery in Exeter, created by architects Harrison Sutton Partnership. The Wellcome Collection, which was remodelled last year by Hopkins Architects, is also competing for the prize.

Three exhibitions appear on the list, namely the British Library’s most visited show so far, Sacred – Discover What We Share. The £2m exhibition displayed Jewish, Christian and Islamic holy texts side by side for the first time.

London’s National Army Museum hosted Helmand: The Soldiers Story last year. Created by soliders, the show explored the British Army’s first campaign in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province.

Also in the running is Bristol’s British Empire and Commonwealth Museum’s exhibition Breaking the Chains, which commemorated the bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade.

Four museums and galleries will be shortlisted in early April, with the winner announced on 22 May at the Royal Institute of British Architects.