Power of Place: Midlands Museum Awards 2025

Museum Development Midlands is thrilled to open entries for the Power of Place: Midlands Museum Awards 2025 – a celebration of the creativity, innovation and impact of museums and heritage organisations across the Midlands. These awards recognise the people and projects that are pushing boundaries, making a difference, and inspiring their communities.

We invite museums of all sizes to showcase their achievements by entering one or more of the following categories. The closing date for applications is Monday 29 September, 9am. To be eligible, applicants must be Midlands-based museums with publicly accessible collections that are publicly funded, charitable, or not-for-profit. Projects submitted must take place between April 2024 and September 2025, be either completed or ongoing:

• The Inclusive Impact Award

• The Green Spark Award

• The Creative Collections Award

• The Next-Level Award

• The Bridge Builder Award

This is your chance to put your museum in the spotlight. Whether your success has been bold or small-scale, long-running or brand new, we want to hear how you are harnessing the power of place to inspire and engage your audiences.

Applications close: Monday 29 September, 9am

And don’t miss our Power of Place event on Wednesday 12 November at Thinktank, Birmingham – a vibrant day of inspiration, connection and celebration, where the winners will be revealed.

Full details of award criteria, key dates and how to apply are available below

Read our Power of Place: Midlands Museum Awards Frequently Asked Questions

Click here to book your tickets for Power of Place: Celebrating Midlands Museums

We look forward to celebrating your work and sharing your successes across the region.

The Inclusive Impact Award  

For the Museum project that has made the most impactful changes to improve inclusivity for communities or workforce.

This award recognises the Museum project, or team that has made a powerful impact in their approach to inclusivity.  Whether through recruitment, improved workplace practices, accessibility, interpretation, collections research, visitor experience, or community engagement programming, this award celebrates museums welcoming new voices and underrepresented perspectives.

The Green Spark Award

Celebrating the most innovative or unexpected eco-friendly action, from zero-waste events and exhibitions to reimagining collections care with sustainable practise.    

The Green Spark Award celebrates those Museums who are demonstrating sustainable practise at any level.  From their approach to collections management approaches, to decisions about energy management and eco-friendly exhibitions, this award recognises work that raises awareness of climate issues in a creative way.

The Creative Collections Award

This award celebrates museums that are demonstrating innovation and creativity in their collections and care practises.  From volunteer-led collections projects, to reimagining new ways to tell important stories or detailed research, this award celebrates museums finding new and innovative ways to explore, care for, and manage their collections. 

This award recognises innovation in collections management, care, access, research, and interpretation. It honours ambition in all its forms; recognising a museum team that took a creative risk, tried something new, or challenged conventions, to deliver an outstanding collections-based experience for the public and their team. We welcome applications from museums that have tried out new ways of working with objects, stories, or research. This could include experimental exhibitions, bold reinterpretations of collections, or innovative approaches to audience engagement. Behind the scenes, it might involve tackling documentation backlogs, undertaking store moves, or leading rationalisation projects.  

This award celebrates brave thinking, high standards, volunteer input or the courage to push the boundaries of collections-focused museum practice. 

Next-Level Award

For the Museum or team that have embraced change, tested something new, or demonstrated innovation in their approach.    

This award recognises Museums or teams who have adapted, evolved or worked hard to move their museum in a positive direction. This might involve testing a new audience engagement approach, a new visitor experience or trialling new operating models. This award recognises those who have brought innovation and creativity to their practise. 

Bridge Builder Award

Celebrating outstanding partnerships that brought people, organisations, or communities together to create meaningful and impactful work that strengthens the Museum’s audience.  

This award celebrates partnerships that have benefited by working collaboratively. This could be working successfully with other museums, local businesses, educational organisations, other tourist attractions to name a few.  

The Bridge Builder Award recognises projects that brought people together in new and meaningful ways. 

Possible projects could include a co-created exhibition or event, a partnership with a local school, working together with a local charity or business. 

Eligibility criteria:   

• Must be a museum with a publicly accessible collection  

• Must be publicly funded, charitable or not for profit  

• Must be located within the Midlands  

• The project or work being submitted must fall within the period – 1 April 24 to 30 September 2025  

• The submission can be for a complete project or an ongoing initiative  

Important Eligibility Note: 

These awards are now open to all Midlands-based museums, including those that receive funding through Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) scheme.