The Box in Plymouth, in the west of England, has won the UK Art Fund Museum of the Year prize, beating the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The award, the most prestigious prize in the UK museum sector, is worth £120,000.
Victoria Pomery, the chief executive of The Box, was presented with the award by the broadcaster and judge June Sarpong at a ceremony on board the Cutty Sark, Royal Museums Greenwich, this evening.
The Box marked its fifth birthday in September last year and has drawn more than one million visitors since it opened. A 2025 report published by the gallery states, meanwhile, that it has boosted the city’s economy by £244m. The institution also says that its schools programme reaches 10,000 children each year, engaging 89% of Plymouth schools to date.
The judges also commended three artist-led projects in 2025—led by Osman Yousefzada, Jeremy Deller and Jyll Bradley—which expanded The Box’s “engagement with local communities, reimagining the future through Plymouth’s past and examining how reframing historic collections can challenge traditional museum narratives.” A Beryl Cook exhibition held at the venue this year was also critically acclaimed.
An exhibition view of Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy at the Box, Plymouth earlier this year
Photo: David Levene; Art Fund 2026
Jenny Waldman, the director of Art Fund and the chair of the judges, said in a statement: “In just five years, The Box has transformed how Plymouth’s remarkable collections are shared and experienced, creating a welcoming space for visitors and reaching beyond its walls into public spaces and almost every school in the city. Its social and economic impact demonstrates what long-term investment in culture can achieve and is recognised and championed by Plymouth City Council.”
According to The Box website, Plymouth City Council owns The Box’s main site and the adjacent St. Luke’s church buildings, which together make up the institution. “The Box is operated through a not-for-profit company called Arca (Plymouth) Limited,” says the online statement.
The other shortlisted museums, which all receive £20,000 each, are: The Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge), The National Gallery (London), Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery (Norwich) and V&A East Storehouse (London).
The other Art Fund Museum of the Year judges are Tony Butler, the executive director of Derby Museums; the artist Yinka Ilori MBE; and the author Alice Loxton. Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, an open-air museum in County Durham that brings 19th and 20th century history to life through “immersive exhibits”, won last year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year prize.