COMPTON VERNEY SHORTLISTED FOR ART FUND MUSEUM OF THE YEAR 2025

Compton Verney has been announced as one of five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025, the world’s largest museum prize. 

Art Fund, the national charity for museums and galleries, annually shortlists five outstanding museums for Museum of the Year. The 2025 prize recognises inspiring projects and activity from autumn 2023 through to winter 2024. In addition to looking at the overall achievements of the organisation, the judges are tasked with identifying impactful projects that spotlight the wide range of remarkable people, including museum staff and volunteers, who bring museums to life by engaging with communities, families and younger visitors, artists and creatives. 

Geraldine Collinge, CEO, Compton Verney said: 

“Compton Verney is absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year for our 20th anniversary year.  2024 was an extraordinary year for Compton Verney and we were thrilled to share our wonderful programme with more visitors than ever. 

I am looking forward to getting to know the other museums over the next few weeks and to celebrating the importance of museums to everybody's lives.” 

Established in 2004, Compton Verney is a vibrant cultural destination committed to making art accessible to all by connecting people with art, nature, and creativity. Home to six world-class art collections, a sculpture park, and a café, it offers enriching experiences for a wide range of audiences. Set within 120 acres of Capability Brown parkland, the galleries are housed in a Grade I-listed Robert Adam mansion, providing a distinctive backdrop to its diverse programme. 

In 2024, Compton Verney unveiled its ambitious Sculpture in the Park exhibition featuring works by artists such as Sarah Lucas, Permindar Kaur, Larry Achiampong and Louise Bourgeois, complemented by a new site-specific commission by Brazilian artist Erika Verzutti.

Committed to diverse voices, the gallery regularly invites artists and communities to reimagine its 18th century facade, sparking fresh conversations about representation in cultural spaces.

All of this is on top of a world-class exhibition programme exploring everything from the legacies of Capability Brown to Louise Bourgeois, and the largest ever exhibition of work by Chila Kumari Singh Burman.

Compton Verney continues its dedication to innovative programming this year, with a large-scale multimedia exhibition of work by Emma Talbot (5 July – 5 October 2025), assembling the artist’s recent work investigating the experience of life from birth to death. 

Visitor numbers reached over 117,000 in 2023-24, marking a 30% increase from pre-pandemic figures.

Community engagement thrives at Compton Verney, with over 6,000 schoolchildren visiting and participating in creativity projects, while recent initiatives include an exhibition with student-led interpretation, and a monthly dementia café. This commitment to inclusion has also earned Compton Verney the Skills West Midlands Inclusion Award for breaking down barriers to cultural careers for young disabled people. 

The other shortlisted museums are Beamish, The Living Museum of the North (County Durham); Chapter (Cardiff); Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast); Perth Museum (Perth). 

The winning museum, recipient of £120,000, will be announced on 26 June at a ceremony at the Museum of Liverpool, the first time the event will be held outside London. £15,000 will be given to each of the four other finalists – bringing the total prize money to £180,000.  

The 2025 judging panel, chaired by Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, includes: Rana Begum (Artist), Dr David Dibosa (Director of Research and Interpretation, Tate), Jane Richardson (Chief Executive, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales) and Phil Wang (Comedian, Writer, Actor).

The judges will visit each of the finalists to inform their decision-making, while each museum will make the most of being shortlisted over the summer through events and activities for new and current visitors. 

 Speaking on behalf of the judges, Jenny Waldman, Director, Art Fund said: 

“Congratulations to Compton Verney on being shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2025. This year’s finalists are inspiring examples of museums at their best – deeply connected to their local communities, responsive to the world around them, and alive with energy and ideas. Each one offers a distinctive experience, showing the endless creativity and care that goes into making museums inspiring and exciting spaces for everyone. Art Fund is proud to celebrate their work and support their ambition through Art Fund Museum of the Year. We hope people across the UK will be inspired to visit these remarkable places and museums in their local area to discover the powerful role they can play in our lives.” 

The prize is funded thanks to the generosity of Art Fund’s members who buy a National Art Pass. Art Pass holders can enjoy 50% off entry when visiting Compton Verney. 

Compton Verney’s 2025 Exhibition Programme: 

Emii Alrai: River of Black Stone – until Sunday 15 June 2025 

Inspired by the disruptive nature of volcanic eruption and the paintings of Vesuvius in our Naples collection, Emii Alrai weaves together ancient mythologies, research and nostalgia as critical response to our times. 

Towering Dreams: Extraordinary Architectural Drawings – until Sunday 31 August 2025 

Let your imagination soar as Towering Dreams explores how architects of the 18^th and early 19^th centuries understood the world around them and the ideas and cultures that inspired them. 

Emma Talbot: How We Learn to Love – Saturday 5 July – Sunday 5 October 2025 

This summer, one of the UK’s most exciting contemporary artists, Emma Talbot, returns to the Midlands with her largest UK exhibition to date. Through vivid silk paintings, emotive sculpture, lyrical text, and immersive animations, How We Learn to Love is an unflinching exploration of life’s biggest themes – love, loss, power, nature, and the unknown. 

Commodities: Sculpture and Ceramics by Renee So – Saturday 20 September 2025 – Sunday 8 March 2026 

Hong Kong-born artist, Renee So (b. 1974) considers the trade of goods and ideas between China and the West, and how perceptions of this history have been distorted and re-fashioned, largely by western preconceptions and orientalism.  

The Shelter of Stories: Ways of Telling, Ways of Dwelling – Saturday 25 October 2025 – Sunday 22 February 2026 

Curated by writer Marina Warner, this exhibition explores the art of storytelling, its close relationship with the sense of home and belonging, and its vital role in times of upheaval and displacement. 

For more information on Compton Verney visit their website here.