The winners in different EMYA categories were presented on the last day of the EMYA2024 Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony that took place from 1-4 May in Portimão, Portugal.
The winners of EMYA 2024 exemplify diversity across various parameters and showcase their ability to actively contribute to positive changes in their communities. They represent diverse facets of cultural stewardship, each embodying a unique role in preserving and promoting tangible and intangible heritage. Acting as cultural bridges, they engage in ethical restitutions, reparations, and participation practices, facilitating reconciliation and healing through collaborative efforts and meticulous research. These museums play a pivotal role in addressing historical legacies and fostering societal healing. Through immersive exhibitions and interactive experiences, they confront difficult pasts and question prevailing narratives, contributing to collective healing and understanding across communities.
Learn more about the winners online and find a list of the six winners of the different awards below.
- The Winner of the EMYA - European Museum of the Year Award 2024 - Sámi Museum Siida, Inari, FINLAND
- The Winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize 2024 - Sybir Memorial Museum, Białystok, POLAND
- The Winner of the Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity 2024 - Ihor Poshyvailo, Director General of the National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum), UKRAINE
- The Winner of the Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion and Belonging 2024 - Salt Museum, Messolonghi, GREECE
- The Winner of the Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement 2024 - Kalamaja Museum, Tallinn, ESTONIA
- The Winner of the Meyvaert Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability 2024 - Museum of the Home, London, UNITED KINGDOM
Six special commendations were given by the Jury in 2024.
- ZOOM Children's Museum, Vienna, AUSTRIA
- Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), Antwerp, BELGIUM
- Memorial of 1902 I Frank A. Perret Museum, Martinique, FRANCE
- National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, NORWAY
- Museum and Memorial in Sobibór. German Nazi Extermination Camp (1942-1943), Department of the State Museum at Majdanek, Włodawa, POLAND
- Museum of Making, Derby, UNITED KINGDOM
Overseen by the European Museum Forum, since 1977 EMYA has been dedicated to promoting innovation and excellence in public quality in museum practice, encouraging networking and exchange of ideas and best practices within the sector. EMF/EMYA works within an overall framework of a commitment to citizenship, democracy and human rights, to sustainability, to bridging cultures and social and political borders.
Museum candidates are either new museums, first opened to the public within the past three (4 years in 2022, 2023 and 2024), or established museums that have renewed their organisation and completed a substantial programme of modernisation and extension of their buildings and galleries.