Glasgow's Burrell Collection crowned Museum of the Year

Glasgow’s Burrell Collection has been crowed Museum of the Year after a five-year closure for a £69 million refurbishment.

Artist Sir Grayson Perry presented the Art Fund £120,000 prize to Glasgow Life head of museums and collections Duncan Dornan at the British Museum in London last night.

The collection, in Glasgow’s Pollok Country Park, houses the 9,000-object collection of Sir William and Constance Burrell.

Managed by the charity Glasgow Life, it was officially reopened by King Charles in October following a complete refurbishment and redisplay aimed at celebrating diversity and creating the most accessible, inclusive and sustainable fine and decorative arts museum in the world.

Duncan Dornan, head of museums and collections for Glasgow Life, accepting the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023 award for the Burrell Collection from Grayson Perry at the British Museum. Picture: Hydar Dewachi/Art Fund

Jenny Waldman, Art Fund director and chair of the Museum of the Year judges, said: “The Burrell Collection is extraordinary – a world-class collection displayed in an inspirational building, in harmony with the surrounding landscape of Pollock country park.”

She added: “The sensitive renovation and collection redisplay invite exploration and delight, with innovative digital displays offering new ways of understanding the art and objects in the museum’s light, welcoming spaces.

“All this was achieved with a strong shared purpose and with the involvement of local community groups in Glasgow.”

Historian and broadcaster Mary Beard, who was also on the judging panel, described the collection as “a treasure trove of objects to discover, with everything from one of the UK’s most important collection of Chinese art, to medieval tapestries and stained glass, and works of art by Rembrandt, Degas and more”.

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She said: “They have realised, with real rigour and imagination, the true depth of what it means for a museum to be accessible. I would encourage everyone to go and experience it.”

In the year after its reopening, the Burrell Collection welcomed more than 500,000 visitors, contributing an estimated £20m to the Glasgow economy in its first six months.

The redisplay was co-curated with a wide range of community groups to ensure the museum showcases diverse and inclusive perspectives, and the Burrell team also partnered with local schools and a range of community groups.

The Burrell Collection was one of five finalists, alongside Leighton House in London, The MAC in Belfast, the Natural History Museum in London and Orkney’s Scapa Flow Museum.

Each finalist will receive £15,000. Together with £120,000 received by the winning museum, the total prize money for Art Fund Museum of the Year is £180,000, specially increased for 2023 and beyond to mark the 120 years of Art Fund supporting museums.

Earlier this month, Ms Waldman, warned resources for Scottish local authority museums had been slashed in real terms by 23 per cent over the decade to 2020 and further spending cuts would inevitably force much-loved institutions to close.