The museums' Oscars -

27 May 2025

It is Europe’s most prestigious museum award. It is the Oscar of museums. 42 carefully selected museums compete for the most prestigeous museum award in Europe. Who won what – and how did it go with the Hurtigruten Museum, which was among the nominees?

After a long process of writing applications, jury assessments and jury visits, the Hurtigruten Museum/Museum Nord was selected in the autumn of 2024 to be among the nominees for the highly prestigious European Museum of the Year Award 2025. Only one other Norwegian museum was also on the list: the Natural History Museum (Oslo)

Innovation and sustainability

The European Museum of the Year Award is presented during the annual EMYA conference. The main prize goes to a museum that, according to the criteria, is innovative, takes social responsibility, is concerned with sustainability and inclusion. The award recognizes “the exemplary” of the museum scene in Europe.

The prize is awarded at the end of a multi-day conference. The conference is filled with workshops, presentations of museums, panel debates and speakers on several interesting topics. A recurring theme is related to solidarity and joint action, at a time when the world appears to be very unsettled.

The conference takes place in different locations each year. Hege (Head of Communications Museum Nord) and Brynjar (Department Director Museum Nord, Dept. Vesterålen) made the trip to Bialystok in Poland to participate in the conference and finally the award ceremony.

Car, plane, train – and then we arrived in Bialystok, the regional capital of the Podlaskie region in Poland. The conference took place at the Podlaskie Opera and Philharmonic House. Photo: Museum Nord

Many, strong, inspiring and good moments

The conference had strong speakers on each topic. Among these were last year’s award winners; Sami Museum Siida (EMYA 2024), House of the Basque Language (European Council Prize 2024), Ihor Poshyvailo (Kenneth Hudson Award 2024) and more. All the nominated museums also presented themselves.

We heard about the struggle to safeguard cultural monuments in the war zone. We learned from the Museum of the Homeless, about how many people live outside a regular home. We heard about zoos, nature museums and the task of safeguarding the climate, nature and the environment. Through art and music museums, we gained a clearer understanding of how art and culture contribute to the development of both individuals and society. Small museums in small villages, large museums in large cities – we got examples of the museum’s practice and society’s response to this.

Picture from one of the many panels. Each museum participated in one panel, under a specific theme.

The Hurtigruten Museum impressed

Whether you win EMYA or another award does not depend on the presentation you give at the conference, but it is a great opportunity to show off your museum to other professional museum workers.

The museums were allocated 5 minutes each for their presentation. We were told and shown pictures of the fantastic building, about the contents and the ships, the work behind it, financing and cooperation between the parties involved, the work that is put in by volunteers, the locals who are proud and that the museum has become an attraction.

Pictures from the presentation of the Hurtigruten Museum. In addition, we showed a short video. Photo: Museum Nord.

Many of the almost 200 conference participants expressed that they are very impressed by the building, by the ships, by the museum as a whole, that there is such a museum in such a small place, how the museum is connected to the rest of Museum Nord and not least that we have succeeded in achieving a comprehensive concept.

There was no award at the Hurtigruten Museum. With us home, however, we have the certainty that the museum is among the 42 that made it through the eye of the needle and were nominated. With us home, we have, if possible, even greater pride and love for the museum and everyone who has made the museum possible.

Photo: Erik Lindner Aspelund, Bjørn Eide (Northern Lights photo, café)

The visible proof of the nomination

All the nominated museums were ceremoniously awarded the certificate as proof of their nomination.

From the distribution of the certificates. On behalf of all parties involved in the Hurtigruten Museum – we are very, very proud that the Hurtigruten Museum is participating in the museums’ Oscar arena! Photo group photo: L. Ramskjær. Other: Museum Nord.

Who won?

Several prizes are awarded in addition to the main prize. Museums that excel in certain areas can also receive what can be called “honorable mention”.

Congratulations to Manchester Museum in the UK with the title of European Museum of the Year 2025!!

Council of Europe Museum Prize: awarded to a museum that has made a significant contribution to upholding human rights and democratic citizenship, to building bridges between cultures. The award aims to highlight Europe’s diverse cultural heritage. The winner 2025 is the prize shared by Euskararen Etxea, House of Basque Language (Bilbao, Spain). Congratulations!!

Kenneth Hudson Award: recognizes museums or individuals who demonstrate institutional courage and professional integrity. In 2025, the award went to Nini Sanadiradze, former General Director of The Union of Tbilisi Museums, Tbilisi, Georgia.

Siletto Prize: awarded to museums with exceptional community engagement and participation. The award for 2025 went to The Alvor Lifeguard Interpretative Centre (CISA) in Portugal.

Meyvaert Museum Prize for Sustainability: awarded to museums with outstanding contributions to social, economic and environmental sustainability. The award for 2025 went to MUZOO in Switzerland.

Portimao Museum Prize: awarded to the most inclusive and hospitable museum in Europe. The award for 2025 went to the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Turkey.

Would you like to read more about who won what? Here you can see an overview of all the winners 2025. Read here for an overview of all the 42 nominees as well as more information about EMYA.

European Museum of the Year Award 2025 nominees

Salon Stolz, Graz, Austria
Vienna Museum, Vienna, Austria
Carl Nielsen Museum, Odense, Denmark
Foundation Museum Ovartaci Aarhus, Denmark
Ensérune, Oppidum and Archaeological Museum, Nissan-lez-Ensérune, France
National Navy Museum, Paris, France
Savoisien Museum Chambéry, France
Deutschlandmuseum, Berlin, Germany
Maria Callas Museum Athens, Greece
The House of Music Hungary, Budapest, Hungary
Gallerie d’Italia Naples, Italy
Gallerie d’Italia, Turin, Italy
Het Loo Palace Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Open Air Museum Het Hoogeland Warffum, Netherlands
Museum Arnhem Arnhem, Netherlands
YWAM University Museum Utrecht Utrecht, Netherlands
Miffy Museum Utrecht, Netherlands
Natural History Museum, University of Oslo Oslo, Norway
Coastal Express Museum Stokmarknes, Norway
Central Museum of Textiles, Poland
Museum of Photography in Kraków Kraków, Poland
Krzysztofory Palace, Museum of Kraków Kraków, Poland
Under the Swan? Pharmacy, Department of the Leon Wyczókowski District Museum Bydgoszcz, Poland
Museum of Amber, Department of Museum of Gdansk Gdansk, Poland
Alvor Lifeboat Interpretation Center Portimão, Portugal
Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal
Collective Memory Point Vad, Romania
House of the Volcanoes Lanzarote, Spain
Museum of Iberian Art El Cigarralejo Mula, Spain
The House of Architecture Madrid, Spain
Euskararen Etxea. House of the Basque Language. The Basque Language Interpretation Centre Bilbao, Spain
Medical History Museum Gothenburg, Sweden
Enter Technikwelt Solothurn Solothurn, Switzerland
Muzoo La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
International Museum of the Reformation Geneva, Switzerland
Glacier Garden Lucerne Lucerne, Switzerland
Isbank Museum of Painting-Sculpture Istanbul, Turkey
Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum Bodrum, Turkey
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art Istanbul, Turkey
Korsak?s Museum of Ukrainian Modern Art Lutsk, Ukraine
Manchester Museum Manchester, United Kingdom
Sainsbury Centre Norwich, UK