Yorkshire Sculpture Park THE PRIZE FOR 2014

YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK WINS ART FUND PRIZE FOR Art Fund Prize for Museum of the MUSEUM OF THE YEAR 2014 Year awards dinner. Courtesy the Art Fund. Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) has won the Art Fund Prize for Museum of (L-R) Sam Mendes, Clare Lilley, Peter Murray, Greville Worthington the Year 2014. The great and good of the museum and art world gathered at the on 9 July 2014 to find out who would win the prestigious prize, which was presented by the Oscar-winning film and theatre director, Sam Mendes. The judges chose YSP out of six remarkable finalists; the other museums were Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft in East Sussex, Hayward Gallery in , Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich and Britain in London. The judges were incredibly impressed by YSP during their visit, and found it to be a truly outstanding museum with a bold artistic vision, consistently delivered at the highest level. They remarked upon the mix of sensory experiences, created by the harmonious integration of learning, landscape and sculpture, and brought to life with works by artists including Julian Opie, Henry Moore and James Turrell. The exhibition by Yinka Shonibare MBE, the sensitive restoration of the beautiful 18th-century chapel, and the installation of Roger Hiorns’ Seizure 2008/2013 were the crowning highlights of 2013 – the culmination of a 40-year journey led by Founder and Executive Director Peter Murray. Barbara Hepworth, The Family of Man, 1970. Courtesy The Hepworth Estate, Tate and YSP © Marc Atkins

Stephen Deuchar, Chair of the Judges, said: “A perfect fusion of art and landscape, Yorkshire Sculpture Park has gone from modest beginnings to one of the finest outdoor museums one might ever imagine. In 2013 it really came of age – with art projects such as Yinka Shonibare’s extraordinary exhibition; the fruits of the expansion and consolidation of the landscape on both sides of the lake; and with the conversion of the chapel to house (as its inaugural exhibition) a major new work by Ai Weiwei.” Peter Murray CBE, YSP’s Founding and Executive Director, said: “We are so surprised and honoured to win this major award. It’s extremely important to have the validation of our peers. This award is dedicated to our incredible staff, the artists with whom we’re privileged to work so closely, and our truly wonderful visiting public.” Announcing the winner, Sam Mendes said: “I’m genuinely honoured to have been asked to be a part of announcing this award. The dedication, love and unbelievable creativity of the six candidates for the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year are clear for all to see, as is the creative health of the UK Museum community as a whole. Financial health is a different matter, however – and in that respect this award is a crucially important boost to one deserving organisation.” This year’s judges – chaired by Art Fund director, Stephen Deuchar – were Sally Bacon, director of the Clore Duffield Foundation; Michael Craig-Martin RA, artist; Wim Pijbes, director of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; and Anna Somers Cocks, chief executive of The Art Newspaper.

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT THE PRIZE The Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year, awarded annually with a value of £100,000, was established in 2003 (formally the for museums and galleries 2003-2007) to recognise the very best of the UK’s internationally acclaimed museums. Having funded the Prize from 2008, the Art Fund has also run the Prize since 2013. Previous winners include the , Walthamstow, London (2013); the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, (2012), and the , London (2011).

ABOUT YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is the leading international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture. It is an independent charitable trust and registered museum (number 1067908) situated in the 500-acre, 18th-century Bretton Hall estate in West Yorkshire. Founded in 1977 by Executive Director Peter Murray, YSP was the first sculpture park in the UK, and is the largest of its kind in Europe, providing the only place in the world to see Barbara Hepworth’s The Family of Man in its entirety alongside a significant collection of sculpture, including bronzes by Henry Moore, and site-specific works by Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash and James Turrell. YSP also mounts a world-class, year-round temporary exhibitions programme including some of the world’s leading artists across five indoor galleries and the open air. Recent highlights have included exhibitions by Ai Weiwei, Ursula von Rydingsvard, Amar Kanwar, Yinka Shonibare MBE, Joan Miró and Jaume Plensa. 60 works on display across the estate include major sculptures by Roger Hiorns, Sol LeWitt, Dennis Oppenheim, Martin Creed, Anthony Caro and Magdalena Abakanowicz. YSP’s core work is made possible by investment from Arts Council England, Council and Sakurako and William Fisher.

ABOUT THE ART FUND The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art, helping museums to buy and show great art for everyone. Over the past 5 years we’ve given over £26m to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections and placed hundreds of gifts and bequests, from ancient sculpture and treasure hoards to Old Master paintings and contemporary commissions, with 25% of grants going towards works by living artists. We also help museums share their collections with wider audiences through supporting a range of tours and exhibitions, including the national tour of the Artist Rooms collection and the 2013-2014 tours of Grayson Perry’s tapestries The Vanity of Small Differences and Jeremy Deller’s English Magic, the British Council commission for the 2013 Venice Biennale. Our support for museums extends to the Art Guide app – the comprehensive guide to seeing art across the UK, promoting a network of over 650 museums and galleries throughout the country, and the £100,000 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year – an annual celebration of the best of UK museums, won in 2013 by William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow. We are independently funded, the majority of our income coming from over 100,000 members who, through the National Art Pass, enjoy free entry to over 220 museums, galleries and historic houses across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions.

SELECTED CURRENT & FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS AT YSP Ursula von Rydingsvard (until 4 Jan 2015) Ai Weiwei in the Chapel (until 2 Nov 2014) Fiona Banner: Wp Wp Wp (20 Sept 2014–4 Jan 2015) Hester Reeve: YMEDACA (until 7 Sept 2014) Tom Frost: The Wild Collection (until 7 Sept 2014) Nick Crowe & Ian Rawlinson: Song for Coal (autumn 2014) Emily Sutton: Town and Country (15 Nov 2014 – 22 Feb 2015)

PRESS ENQUIRY CONTACTS: For Yorkshire Sculpture Park enquiries contact: Kerry Chase, Communications Officer / +44 (0)1924 832 515 / [email protected] Nina Rogers, Communications Manager / +44 (0)1924 832 633 / [email protected] Download images at ysp.co.uk/ysp-media / Follow @YSPsculpture For Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year enquiries contact: Madeline Adeane, Press Relations Manager, +44 (0)207 225 4804

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