Overview
- Art Fund named five finalists Monday for the 2026 prize, with a £120,000 top award and £20,000 for each runner-up.
- The winner will be announced on 25 June at London’s Cutty Sark, and judges led by Jenny Waldman will visit each museum with Tony Butler, Yinka Ilori, Alice Loxton and June Sarpong on the panel.
- Norwich Castle reopened its Norman Keep in August 2025 after a £27.5 million project that added immersive 12th‑century rooms and step‑free access now described as the most accessible castle in the UK.
- V&A East Storehouse opened in May 2025 in Stratford, lets visitors walk among stored collections, houses the David Bowie Centre archive and has drawn more than 500,000 visitors.
- The Box reports more than one million visits and a £244 million boost to Plymouth’s economy, the Fitzwilliam posted record attendance in 2024 and 2025, and the National Gallery earned recognition for its 2025 bicentenary rehang and upgrades.