Timespan wins £15k in prestigious Museum of the Year Award but loses out on top prize

It was a huge achievement for a Sutherland museum to make it to the shortlist of the prestigious 2021 Artfund Museum of the Year Award.

But Timespan in Helmsdale has just lost out on the top prize after the winner was announced live on Radio 4 arts show Front Row on Tuesday evening.

The £100,000 award – the world’s largest museum award – went to Firstsite in Colchester with the four runners-up to receive £15,000.

Competing for the substantial prize along with Timespan and Firstsite were Experience Barnsley, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry-Londonderry and the Thackray Museum of Medicine, Leeds.

The Front Row programme was broadcast from the Science Museum in London and the spotlight shone on each museum in turn.

Mention was made of Timespan’s remote northerly location and the low population of the area.

The museum was said to offer a “holistic” experience.

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