The museum devoted to the 250-year-old Wedgwood pottery company in Stoke-on-Trent is one of the ten institutions long-listed for the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries.
Also on the list is the Kelvin Grove Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, the favourite two years ago when the Pallant House Gallery won, this time for its Centre of New Enlightenment.
The Art Fund, sponsors in succession to the Gulbenkian Foundations since 2007, have decided to sponsor year to year, and have committed to continuing their support at least into 2010. The Fund said the unexpected resignation of director David Barrie, who lives at the end of Ma, was not connected with the prize.
Also on the list to be visited by the judges, chaired by Lord Puttnam, over the next three months are:
The Braid: Arts Centre and Mid-Antrim Museum, Ballymena, Co Antrim, a £20 million new museum, arts centre and exhibition space exploring the history of the region.
The Centre of New Enlightenment at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, inspired by the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment and using the museum’s collections to inspire young people.
Outside the Box at the Museum of Reading which entrusts more than 20,000 precious objects from the museum’s collections packed into more than 1,500 boxes and loaned out to h schools, colleges, care homes, libraries, and local community groups.
Scotland: A Changing Nation at National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh, five major themes affecting life in Scotland from the First World War to the present.
National Trust Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire, which offers the rare chance for kids big and small to get their hands on with its collections in this museum set in the 19th century servants’ wing of 17th century Sudbury Hall.
Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, transformed from a group of decaying buildings into a thriving and inspirational community hub for heritage, arts and learning.
Rotunda – The William Smith Museum of Geology, Scarborough, one of the oldest surviving purpose-built museums in the country.
Ruthin Craft Centre: The Centre for the Applied Arts, Denbighshire, the most important gallery for contemporary craft in Wales in a stunning new building.
The Sackler Centre for arts education at the V&A, London, one of the most innovative museum education spaces in the world.
