Beamish, The Living Museum Of The North wins Museum Of The Year award

Beamish, The Living Museum Of The North has won the Art Fund Museum Of The Year prize for 2025.

The open-air museum, in Country Durham, bring north-east England’s Georgian, Edwardian and 1940s and 1950s history to life through immersive exhibits.

The £120,000 prize was presented to Rhiannon Hiles, chief executive of Beamish, by comedian and prize judge Phil Wang, at a ceremony held at the Museum Of Liverpool.

Beamish offers immersive exhibits (David Levene/Art Fund/PA)

Wang, 35, said: “Beamish is a worthy winner of this year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year award. Our visit was one of the most fun days I’ve had in years.

“An unbelievable level of commitment from staff, and a jaw-dropping amount of detail ran through everything. They had to drag me kicking and screaming out of there!”

Jenny Waldman, director of Art Fund and chairwoman of the judges for Art Fund Museum Of The Year, added: “Beamish is a museum brought to life by people – a joyous, immersive and unique place shaped by the stories and experiences of its community.

“The judges were blown away by the remarkable attention to detail of its exhibits across a 350-acre site and by the passion of its staff and volunteers.”

In the past year Beamish has completed its Remaking Beamish project, which has seen the recreation of a 1950s town and 1950s farm.

Beamish, The Living Museum Of The North, is an open-air museum in County Durham (David Levene/Art Fund/PA)PA Media - David Levene/Art Fund

In 2024 they opened a 1950s cinema, toy shop and electrical shop, as well as a Georgian tavern.

The museum, which celebrates its 55th anniversary this year, was in a list of finalists that comprised Chapter in Cardiff, Compton Verney in Warwickshire, Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast and Perth Museum in Perth and Kinross.

Art Fund annually shortlists five outstanding museums for the prize and the 2025 edition recognises activities that took place from autumn 2023 to winter 2024.

The judges were tasked with identifying impactful projects and looking at the overall achievements of the organisations.