Two Croatian museums have been nominated for the renowned award that recognises excellence and innovation in the museum sector
The Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding in Betina on Murter island and the Vučedol Culture Museum in Vukovar have been nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award 2018 (EMYA). Along with two other co-nominees, the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo and the House of Jevrem Gruić in Svetogorska in Serbia, the museums are the only contenders operating in the Balkan region.
The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded 40 years ago by Kenneth Hudson and Richard Hoggart with the goal of recognising excellence and honouring the best and the most innovative practices in the European museum world. As stated on the official website, “EMYA has had a significant influence on the lives of many museum professionals and has brought to centre stage museums with highly innovative approaches, which came to have a significant influence in the national and international museum field. Within the EMYA scheme all museums are equal, whether public or private, small or large. And whatever their subject or their nationality, they are assessed on the basis of their outstanding public quality and innovative practices. Since 1977, the European Museum Forum, as the longest running and most prestigious museum award scheme, has presented the European Museum of the Year Award and a series of related awards, and functioned as a continuous benchmark for best practices for the sector. Innovation, public quality and accessibility are the absolute criteria for the EMYA award and constitute the shared denominators for all the awards in the scheme.”
Vučedol Culture Museum Facebook
A total of 40 museums in Europe have been nominated for the prestigious award this year. The winners will be announced at the Annual Assembly of the European Museum Forum that will take place in Warsaw from May 9 to 12, 2018.
The museums in Betina and Vukovar have both reported on their candidacy on their respective Facebook pages earlier today, with representatives of the Betina Museum stating they plan to present their institution in the best way possible – by promoting their local heritage. Best of luck to the Croatian nominees!
