The Burrell Collection wins Art Fund Museum of the Year
The Pollok based museum houses over 9,000 artefacts
Last updated 14th Mar 2024
The Burrell Collection has been crowned the winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year award.
The Glasgow museum is home to more than 9,000 artifacts dating back across 6,000 years of history.
This year marked the 10th iteration of the prize, and the Burrell was one of five museums to be shortlisted.
The winner will receive the specially increased prize fund of £120,000 to mark 120 years of the Art Fund supporting galleries, museums and heritage sites.
Keeper of the Burrell Collection, Dr Samuel Gallacher was at the awards in London’s British Museum said: “The atmosphere was building, we didn’t know who was going to win, amazing competition this year, and then the announcement came: ‘the Burrell Collection’, we were over the moon.”
The Collection was officially reopened in October 2022 by King Charles after undergoing refurbishment to be more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable.
Volunteer, Margaret Anderson, has been working with the Collection for 39 years.
She was nervous at first for the redevelopment: “I was a little bit apprehensive that when we had the new layout, I might not be as happy, in fact I thought I would burst into tears when we walked in, but far from that, I have just loved it.”
The Burrell Collection welcomed more than 500,000 visitors in the year after its reopening, with visitors able to enjoy the newly displayed stained-glass windows and tapestries.
Speaking about what makes it so special, Margaret added: “It’s partly the range of the collection, a whole range of different types of themes, perhaps not the same as other Glasgow museums and galleries have.
“There’s a lot of interest, you’re not stuck on one particular artistic theme, there’s just so much to learn, and we do, we go on learning the whole time.”
UK Government Minister for Scotland John Lamont said: "I'm delighted to see Glasgow's Burrell Collection recognised with this fantastic honour.
“It's a stunning space with a magnificent collection of global importance that the UK Government is proud to have supported with a £3million investment."
Dr Gallacher finished: "It's a collection for the people of Glasgow, come and see it."