Museum celebrates reopening with European award nomination

Derby Museums’ Museum of Making is celebrating its successful reopening with a nomination for a top European Award.

The museum, which reopened to the public at the end of last month after being closed because of flooding, has been nominated for European Museum of the Year.

The shortlist comprises of fifty museums across Europe and includes two other museums located in the UK, The Burrell Collection (Glasgow), and the Museum of the Home (London).

Organised by the European Museum Forum, the European Museum of the Year Award represents the best in innovation and excellence, in new or redeveloped museums, with the aim of recognising and developing the quality of the European museum scene.

Tony Butler, executive director at Derby Museums, said: “I’m thrilled that the Museum of Making has been recognised as a nominee for the European Museum of the Year Award 2024.

“We’re proud that less than three years after reopening, the museum is already becoming a popular tourist destination in the UK, attracting visitors to Derby and playing an important role in creating a vibrant tourism sector for Derbyshire.

“This award will help to further raise our profile in the UK and across Europe.”

The Museum of Making has shown itself to be an attractive civic space and invaluable heritage asset for Derby, having attracted over 90,000 visitors in its first year of operation and over 122,000 in the last financial year.

A recent economic impact report estimated that Derby Museums supports Derby’s hospitality, leisure and tourism offer by generating an estimated £7 million of tourism spend in the local economy, with £4 million coming from the Museum of Making alone.

Back in October, the museum was forced to close due to flooding caused by Storm Babet.

However, on its reopening weekend more than 2,500 people visited.

Tony said: “We have worked hard to reopen the Museum of Making so quickly after the flood last year and it has been fantastic to welcome visitors back and see the museum vibrant and full of life once again.”

The European Museum of the Year Award nomination is a timely reward for the efforts of the museum’s management, staff and volunteers.

The rigorous judging process culminates in the annual conference and awards ceremony with the participation of 250 to 300 leading museum professionals, at which the candidates present their museums, the winners are announced, and the underlying values and innovative ideas in the European museum field are discussed, renewed and reinterpreted.

The winners will be announced during the annual conference of the European Museum Forum, which will take place at Portimão Museum, Portugal, in May.

Tony said: “We wish all our fellow nominees good luck, including two other excellent museums from the UK, the Museum of the Home in London and The Burrell Collection in Glasgow.”