The Design Museum of London received in Warsaw, Poland, the prestigious European museum prize 2018. This award ceremony takes place every year since 1977. The Design Museum of London is the first British museum to win this award since 2013 and the sixth in the history. Last year, it was the Geneva Ethnography Museum in Switzerland that won the award.
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The Design Museum receives the 2018 EMYA for its inspiration and its openness to the general public. The museum’s mission is to celebrate and explore the magic of human creativity, objects, ideas, skills and forces that shape our lives.
Indeed, If you are a fan of contemporary art, design and pop color, the Design Museum is the place to be. There are several exhibitions every year which are different from one to another. The Design Museum welcomed its millionth visitor with the exhibition “Ferrari: Under the Skin”. This exhibition became the most visited in the history of the museum with more than 100 000 visitors.
Another example is Azzedine Alaïa exhibition opened in May. Conceived and co-curated with Alaïa himself before his death in November 2017, the exhibition charts his incredible journey from sculptor to couturier. You will be able to see some of his masterpieces and feel his infectious energy for fashion. This exhibition is opened until October 2018.
This year the European Museum award was held in the POLIN Museum (Museum of the History of Polish Jews). The Polish Museum was awarded European Museum of Year Award 2016.
EMYA 2018: OTHER WINNERS
2018 Council of Europe Museum Prize
War Childhood Museum
(museum judged to have made a significant contribution to an understanding of European cultural heritage)
The War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) was awarded this year with the Council of Europe Museum Prize. Opened in January 2017, the museum has for mission to raise awareness about growing up in the war. The museum is one of the few in the world to focus exclusively on a childhood that have been affected by the war.
2018 Silletto Prize
Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding
(excellence in working with the local community and involving volunteers)
Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding in Betina (Croatia) is focused on promoting and preserving the heritage of wooden shipbuilding. Opened in 2015, everyone in the community participated in the construction of this museum. Through donations and activities, this museum represents a model between a museum, local community, and enterprises.
2018 Kenneth Hudson Award
Estonian National Museum
(recognition of the most unusual and daring achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society)
Estonian National Museum in Tartu (Estonia) was awarded for the creation of a new building with two permanent exhibitions combining science and interactivity. This museum is linking the past and the future through cultural dialogue.
