The shortlist for the 2023 Museums + Heritage Awards is revealed today, marking a step closer to the London ceremony on Wednesday 10th May 2023.

A record number of submissions have been received this year, from which the final winners will be selected by an eight-strong independent judging panel.

A total of 18 winners will be crowned at the ceremony in May. For the first time this year, the Museums + Heritage Awards includes three new categories; ‘Team of the Year’ ‘Innovator of the Year’, and the ‘Sector Support Award’.

‘Team of the Year’ will recognise a group making a difference to the day-to-day running of an organisation. The judges will be looking for a team that can demonstrate good practice, a collaborative approach, and invaluable combined results.

The ‘Sector Support Award’ will recognise both sector support companies and individuals. This new category has been designed to shine a spotlight on freelancers, consultants, associations, partners and suppliers.

Full details of the shortlisted nominees can be found here.

The new ‘Innovator of the Year’ award, which has been created for companies operating in the museums, heritage and cultural visitor attractions sector, is unique because it will be decided by a sector-wide vote based on three-minute videos created by entrants.

More details, including instructions for voting, can be found here.

The judging panel this year is chaired by Bernard Donoghue, Director of ALVA. It is comprised of Sara Wajid, joint CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust; Caro Howell, Director of the Foundling Museum; Dame Diane Lees CBE, Director General of the Imperial War Museums; Dr Matthew Tanner MBE Chief Executive of ss Great Britain Trust, Sam Mullins OBE, Director of the London Transport Museum; Maggie Appleton MBE, CEO of the Royal Air Force Museum and Stephen Duncan, Director of Commercial and Tourism at Historic Environment Scotland.

The event’s sponsors and partners are Association of Independent Museum (AIM), Beck, Cabbells, Convious, Culture24, Displayways, Group for Education in Museums (GEM), The National Lottery Heritage Fund, International Council of Museum (ICOM), Tyg Tickets, and Touring Exhibition Group.

View the shortlist on the Museums and Heritage Awards website.

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