Four Manchester Museum shortlisted amongst world’s best

Four of Manchester’s most beloved museums have been shortlisted in the global Museums & Heritage Awards.

Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, National Football Museum, and the Science and Industry Museum have all been recognised amongst the world’s best museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions. Winners will be revealed at a ceremony at Hilton Park Lane in London on Wed 13 May.

The Manchester institutions have been shortlisted across five categories from a record number of entries from all over the world.

The Science and Industry Museum’s newly reopened Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery has been shortlisted for both Permanent Exhibition of the Year and Sustainable Project of the Year (sponsored by the National Lottery Heritage Fund).

Power Hall: The Andrew Law Gallery is a free, working gallery which re-opened in October 2025 following major repair and improvements to one of the most important surviving buildings of the industrial revolution.

Developed with communities, visitors can immerse themselves in the sights, smells and sounds of the engine-driven ideas and industry that changed the world and see historic engines now powered by innovative sustainable technology at the heart of the experience.

Improved access, co-designed interpretation and schools and skills programmes provide opportunities to re-examine our past industrial narratives and inspire the green engineers of the future.  Together with a newly landscaped Upper Yard and new interpreted planting, the project has re-opened access to over 1.4 acres of free public space.

Manchester Art Gallery’s Collections Care and Management Team have been shortlisted for Team of the Year. The nomination recognises their remarkable commitment and the way they come together, year after year, to deliver exceptional work. This includes the successful decant of 6,600 artworks, from paintings and works on paper to ceramics, glass and sculpture, from the Conservation Studio and Stores to Manchester Art Gallery as part of the Capital Programme project Taking Stock.

It was a major and complex undertaking. It enabled essential building works and opened new opportunities for research, planning and public access, supporting work that places communities, volunteers, schools, experts, freelancers and visitors at its centre. The team also shared their behind-the-scenes expertise with visitors through specialist public tours. Alongside this, they delivered precise and expert installation work for the exhibitions Things of the Least, Splendours of the Sikh Raj, and the upcoming WORN and Won’t Sit Still. Being shortlisted is a well-deserved recognition of an extraordinary year of dedication and impact.

Manchester Museum’s world premiere of The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years has been shortlisted for Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year. Developed in collaboration with creative robotics studio Air Giants, The Cat That Slept for a Thousand Years represented a bold new step in the Museum’s approach to temporary exhibitions and really captured the imaginations of visitors throughout last summer.

The National Football Museum has been shortlisted for the Visitor Welcome Award (sponsored by ALVA – Association of Leading Visitor Attractions) for its Visitor First – A world-class welcome for every visitor, every day scheme. 

Visitor First was a year-long development programme that set a new benchmark for the National Football Museum’s visitor welcome. With 40% of visitors arriving through personal recommendation, and Manchester gearing up to host UEFA EURO 2028, delivering an exceptional welcome is vital to the museum’s long-term sustainability and transformation plans.

The initiative strengthened engagement and accessibility across the visitor journey, invested in targeted team development and embedded new feedback tools to ensure every visitor feels inspired, included and brilliantly looked after.

This year’s shortlist has been chosen by an independent panel of nine judges, who are all well-known in the museum world. The full shortlist can be viewed here

Councillor Shazia Butt, Executive Member for Culture, Corporate Property, Crime and Policing, Manchester City Council, said: “We’re very lucky in Manchester to have so many incredible, creative and world-class museums and galleries right here on our doorstep, providing inspiration, learning, energy and fun, as well as spaces to rest and reflect, free of charge every day of the week.

“We know that visiting museums and heritage sites is the most popular cultural pastime for our residents with over 73% of people saying they loved to visit in a recent survey – and with the calibre of these amazing spaces and what they offer in the city, it’s not hard to understand why. It’s fantastic to see this backbone of our cultural offer in Manchester being recognised in this way up there amongst the very best of museums and galleries nationally and internationally.”

Anna Preedy, Director of Museums + Heritage Awards, commented: “This year we received a record number of entries to the Awards, which has been fantastic to see. Museums and cultural organisations increasingly act as welcoming spaces at the heart of their communities, and it has been inspiring to see how many projects have been developed in genuine collaboration with those communities. Many exhibitions and initiatives have been co-curated, placing community voices front and centre and creating space for stories to be shared in ways that are imaginative, inclusive and far less prescriptive.”