MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands Historic Dockyard Museum shortlisted in Museums/Heritage Awards for Excellence 2015

Ms Roberts said “we are all absolutely thrilled to have been short-listed in the M+H Awards – it is far more than we would have dared dream of”.(Pic BBC)

The Falkland Islands Museum & National Trust is very proud to announce that the Historic Dockyard Museum has been shortlisted in the International category of the Museums + Heritage Awards for Excellence 2015.

 The Museums + Heritage Awards for Excellence celebrate best practice within the cultural sector. All museums, galleries and cultural and heritage visitor attractions have the opportunity to enter, regardless of budgets, the volume of visitors or the profile level of the project.

The Historic Dockyard Museum is the national museum of the Falklands, having moved from Britannia House last year, opening in the Dockyard on 5th September. Made possible through a Falkland Islands Government grant of £1.8m and the generous support of a number of individuals and organizations both locally and abroad, the new museum is a celebration of the culture and heritage of the Falklands.

Although a social history museum at its heart, the Historic Dockyard Museum has galleries dedicated to maritime heritage, natural history, the war in 1982, and the Falklands’ long-established link with Antarctica.

Museum Manager, Leona Roberts reports everyone involved with the Historic Dockyard Museum was very excited by the news: “We are all absolutely thrilled to have been short-listed in the M+H Awards – it is far more than we would have dared dream of. It is a wonderful reward for all our staff and supporters, for all the people who put such a huge amount of effort into creating this. I hope that the whole community can join in celebrating this acknowledgement of their heritage – it is, after all, their museum.”

The Falklands will be represented at the awards ceremony, although Leona stresses that the Dockyard is up against stiff competition: “We can’t really aspire to go any further in the competition, but are incredibly honored to simply be mentioned in the same breath as these incredible organizations.”

One of the judges, Bernard Donoghue, said every place on the shortlist was very hard fought because the standard was very high this year.

Comedian Marcus Brigstocke will present the Museums + Heritage Awards for Excellence 2015 on Wednesday, April 29 in the Historic Staterooms of 8 Northumberland Avenue, where over 300 sector professionals are expected to attend.

It must also be mentioned that the Historic Dockyard Museum received global recognition in the highly regarded Museum Association’s, Museums Journal.

The project was featured online: http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/features/02022015-international-opening ; and in a 2-page culture spread in the magazine:

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2abe0425e0c8db5d48bd90c90/files/040315_Museums_Journal_Falklands_Museum_MJ_feb.pdf

This year's shortlist of museums for the 2015 Excellence International award includes:

Gallipoli Simulation Museum (General Directorate of Nature Conservations and National Parks of Turkey) - Turkey

Historic Dockyard Museum (Falkland Islands Museum & National Trust), Falkland Islands

Micropia (Natura Artis Magistra) - World's first museum dedicated to the microbe, Netherlands

DOMunder: archaeological experience under the Domplein square (tinker imagineers on behalf of the Stichting Domplein 2013 (Domplein Foundation), Netherlands

Taull1123 - Immersive experience in a World Heritage Site (Government of Catalonia Culture Department-La Caixa Fundation) - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

Previous winners of International award include:

2014 The Memory Palace – National Archives, The Netherlands; 2013 Fram Museum, Oslo; 2012 Bolton Museum; 2010 Khasab Castle, Sultanate of Oman, The Directorate of Historic Sites Development, Ministry of Tourism.