2026 EMA Awards – press release

Finalists for the 2026 Art Museum Award

• Museum Gugging, Klosterneuburg, Austria
• National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens, Greece
• FENIX, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Hastings Contemporary, Hastings, United Kingdom

THE ART MUSEUM AWARD goes to the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), Athens, Greece. Home to Greece’s national collection of contemporary art EMST combines a strong commitment to Greek contemporary art with an international and outward-facing perspective. Its ambitious programme has expanded considerably in recent years, with 54 exhibitions presented over four years alongside the continued development, documentation and digitisation of its collection and archives.

The judges said: EMST impressed the jury through the authenticity and ambition with which this vision is translated into practice across the institution as evidenced in its incredible number of thought-provoking exhibitions. A champion of Greek contemporary art while confidently outward-facing to the eastern Mediterranean and the world beyond, EMST is a much-needed cultural bridge in an increasingly isolated and fractured world. Quality of production, originality of thought and heartfelt belief in making a positive impact in everything the museum does helped EMST stand out in a highly competitive field of candidates. EMST does not just hope to change the way audiences think not only about contemporary art, but about their lives and the world in which they live.

TWO SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS FOR INNOVATIVE PRACTICES were awarded to:

The National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana has explored innovatively how to make the country’s principal institution for fine art relevant and accessible to different parts of society through giving a platform to a breadth of diverse voices and perspectives. Particularly noteworthy is its long-term work with people living with dementia, developed with healthcare professionals and neuroscientists and becoming a model for similar programmes nationally. The Gallery also works closely with people with Down syndrome as active contributors who co-create easy-to-read interpretation, develop and deliver tours, and take on visitor-facing roles. Its participatory approaches offer models that could be applied by museums elsewhere. 

Hastings Contemporary, Hastings, UK is doing what many would see as impossible, turning the harshest critic into the closest collaborator. This is an exceptional approach to audience engagement. These relationships extend beyond individual exhibitions, including the safeguarding of local oral histories and new partnerships with universities and other coastal communities. The ecological crisis facing our maritime environment, cutting across nature, society, history and future, is the source of creative and emotional power for this standout museum, redefining this local museum as an important global voice. 

Finalists for the 2026 DASA Award

• ZOOM Children’s Museum, Vienna, Austria
• Ocean Museum Germany, Stralsund, Germany
• The Home of the Human Safety Net, Venice
• The Walery Rzewuski Museum of History of Photography in Kraków, Poland
• Constanţa Exhibition Centre, Constanţa, Romania

THE DASA AWARD this year goes to The Walery Rzewuski Museum of History of Photography in Kraków, Poland. Since 2021 it has been fully rebranded as MuFo, a contemporary visitor-oriented institution. Its evolution was driven by architectural expansion, multi-site development, digitisation and a shift towards education and public engagement, transforming it into a contemporary hub for diverse audiences.

The judges said: MuFo aims to be a museum for everyone – accessible, inclusive and welcoming to people with various types of disability – by establishing clearly defined groups of its visitors. Its programmes are not one-off workshops but build long-term ongoing relationships with the groups. It demonstrates exactly what a DASA winner should be, with bold transformation, social relevance, accessibility and strategic vision.

Finalists for the 2026 Luigi Micheletti Award

• Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium
• Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany
• National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
• Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Basel, Switzerland
• Kenan Yavuz Ethnographical Museum, Beşpınar/Bayburt, Turkey

THE LUIGI MICHELETTI AWARD goes to the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany. The main theme of the exhibition, ‘You are Part of History’ is the history of the Federal Republic of Germany from the end of the Second World War to reunification. While the exhibition focuses primarily on West Germany, it does not omit developments in the GDR. It also incorporates effectively the historical context of neighbouring countries such as Poland and the broader region.

The judges said: The new permanent exhibition is exceptionally well designed. It avoids being overwhelmed by multimedia, opting instead to offer an immersive sensory experience through brilliant scenography. The exhibition is masterfully contextualised, demonstrating that the history of Germany is intrinsically linked to that of Central Europe. As the Luigi Micheletti winner this year, this is truly ‘a museum of influence’.

A SPECIAL COMMENDATION was awarded to the Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen, Belgium, which serves as an exemplary model of how the history of a city’s golden age can be retold in a way that resonates with contemporary audiences, ultimately grounded in ideas of social justice. It may be regarded as a role model for new modes of narrating urban history and has created a holistic experience that leaves a lasting impression.

THE EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY (EMA) is a non-profit Foundation established to reflect museums at the international level, to promote research on museography and museology as a high cultural activity, to provide constructive criticism and promote discussion on new exhibitions and museums, and to diffuse museological knowledge and ideas among members of the profession. It aims to promote the conception and development of new as well as of traditional museums as tools of social change. The Micheletti Award is organised to illustrate best museum practice, in co-operation with the Micheletti Foundation. Forty-four countries are currently represented within the European Museum Academy’s organisation.

THE ART MUSEUM AWARD (AMA) is dedicated to honour and highlight museum projects that work with art in an innovative, pioneering and creative way in order to address or respond to current social issues that are a major challenge to our contemporary society. It is about museums functioning as ‘social arenas’, as societally relevant meeting places. The award is built upon democratic and human values that should be the driving force for new museum ideas for the 21^st century. It is meant to identify new role models of excellence that could function as inspiring paragons of the social role of museums. Eligible to apply are not only art museums, but all other museums and galleries that work with art or art interventions. The Art Museum Award is generously supported by the A.G. Leventis Foundation. (See also our Awards page for more information.) 

THE LUIGI MICHELETTI FOUNDATION (Fondazione Biblioteca Archivio Luigi Micheletti) LMF (established in 1981 in Brescia) is a research centre specialising in 20^th-century history.  Scientific research covers ideologies of the 20^th century, wars, the ambivalence of technical progress, industrialization and labour, conspicuous consumption, the origin of environmentalism.  The ideological, social and material contemporary history, led by international research and conferences, is linked to a rich collection: writings, postcards, photos, posters, videos, audio documents, but also objects, furniture and machines.  It is in this context that the musil – Museum of Industry and Labour – was created, in order to focus on the recovery of productive plants and whole urban areas. fondazionemicheletti.eu; musilbrescia.it; luigimichelettiaward.eu.

DASA WORKING WORLD EXHIBITION (DASA Arbeitswelt Ausstellung) DASA in Dortmund covers the past, present and future worlds of work in an area of about 13.000 m², with 12 exhibition units and three-dimensional exhibits.  It is the permanent educational facility of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Care (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin) and informs the public about the world of work, its status for the individual and society, and the importance of tailoring work to human requirements.  The relationship between people, work and technology is demonstrated and explained in a variety of ways in the exhibition.  The central theme is to establish human values at work, such as good health and dignity. DASA focuses on people and their physical, intellectual, social and cultural needs. www.dasa-dortmund.de  

Contacts: 

Art Museum Award: Anaïs de Potesta, AMA Coordinator, depotestaa@gmail.com 

DASA and Micheletti Awards: Ann Nicholls, EMA Coordinator, ann.n1493@mail.com 

See also our press releases and our Press Kit on the homepage »

Or visit our cloud-based Press kit folder »