The Hepworth Wakefield wins £10,000 Clore learning award
05 Jun 2013
The award recognises the achievements and celebrates the quality in museum and gallery learning programmes.
The Hepworth Wakefield is celebrating today after winning the coveted £10,000 Clore Learning Award at last night’s Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year Awards 2013.
The award, presented by Ian Hislop at a ceremony held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, recognises the achievements and celebrates the quality in museum and gallery learning programmes. These programmes develop the skills, knowledge, values and enjoyment with children and young people (from early years up to the age of 25).
Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund and chair of the judges, said: “The integration of curatorial and learning programmes – which so many museums attempt – has rarely been achieved so completely and impressively as at The Hepworth Wakefield. It is educational, aspirational, and inspirational to the core.”
Museum of the Year judge Sarah Crompton was struck by the ‘impressive’ education programme at The Hepworth Wakefield and said she was: “thrilled to see how cleverly this relatively new gallery has built such an excellent programme around the core collection from their local heroine.”
Simon Wallis, Director of The Hepworth Wakefield added: “It’s a wonderful achievement under any circumstances, let alone for a gallery that is only two years old and is something of which all of us can be proud. My congratulations go to our learning team in enabling the gallery to win this coveted award. It’s a testament to energetic and inventive that is the bedrock of the gallery’s success and will help hugely in our on-going fundraising efforts to find further support for this greatly valued and now award-winning programme.”
The winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges chaired by Art Fund Director, Stephen Deuchar. The judges were Daily Telegraph’s Arts Editor in Chief Sarah Crompton, writer and broadcaster Bettany Hughes, Tristram Hunt MP and the artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
Photo: Hannah Webster
“It’s a wonderful achievement under any circumstances, let alone for a gallery that is only two years old and is something of which all of us can be proud”
Simon Wallis OBE, Director – The Hepworth Wakefield
