LONDON.- Today, Wednesday 12 December, the search for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019 began.

The biggest museum prize in the world – with a total prize value of £140,000 – Art Fund Museum of the Year seeks out, celebrates and rewards innovation and exceptional achievement in museums and galleries across the UK.

Each year an independent panel selects the finalists and winner. The judges for 2019 are also announced today: David Batchelor, artist; Brenda Emmanus, broadcaster and journalist; Bridget McConnell, chief executive of Glasgow Life; and Bill Sherman, director of the Warburg Institute. The Jury will be chaired by Stephen Deuchar, director of Art Fund.

There are around 2,500 museums in the UK, many of them free, including national museums, local authority museums, university museums, independent museums, historic properties and heritage sites, National Trust properties and royal palaces. More than 100 million visits are made to UK museums every year, making museums some of the most popular visitor destinations in the country.

Art Fund Museum of the Year champions the work of museums – shining the spotlight on the originality and creativity of museums of all kinds and sizes from every part of the UK. To be considered, museums are asked to show how their achievements of the preceding year stand out, what makes their work inventive and the impact it has had on audiences. These achievements might include: bold and imaginative exhibitions, collection displays or conservation projects; learning programmes; acquisitions with a real impact on the museum and its audiences; creative use of technology or digital media; audience engagement and participation initiatives; new buildings, refurbishments or reinventions of existing spaces.

The application deadline is 6 February 2019 and the finalist museums will be announced in May 2019.

The winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2019 will be announced at an award ceremony at the Science Museum in London on 3 July. The winning museum will receive £100,000. Each other finalist will receive £10,000.

Art Fund Museum of the Year has helped draw national and international attention to UK museums. Previous winners of the prize include: British Museum, London (2011), Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter (2012), William Morris Gallery, London (2013), Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield (2014), The Whitworth, Manchester (2015), V&A Museum, London (2016), Hepworth Wakefield (2017), Tate St Ives (2018).

Art Fund Museum of the Year will continue its partnership with the BBC in 2018, which will cover the prize through programming across television, radio and online platforms