Awards
EMA Awards
Associated Awards
EMA Awards
Art Museum Award
The Art Museum Award is a European award. It centers on the social role of art museums and honors museum projects that place art in innovative contexts to address current social issues.
The award is built on democratic and human values, including social justice, participation, inclusion, gender equality, racial justice, community building, sustainability, and resilience. These values must drive new museological ideas. The award identifies new role models and models of excellence that exemplify the social role of art museums. Art museums and art galleries are eligible.
The award offers European visibility and showcases the value museums bring to communities. It creates a network for discussion, provides marketing support, attracts more visitors and new audiences, and raises awareness about the museum’s role in society.
The winner receives extra attention through the media and receive a specially designed trophy.
The award ceremonies are held in a different European locations in the second half of September.
The entry fee is € 300,– covering award administration and candidate visits.
All art museums and galleries are eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted in English.
The application is judged based on the museum’s social role and the project’s innovative approach to addressing social issues. An international jury of experts will judge the applications. The jury will select a shortlist of institutions and visit them.
Apply by filling out the application form. Our Awards Officer, Anaïs de Potesta, will verify your application, contact you, and guide you through the process.
Current status: Open
Deadline: 15 March 2026
Application form: download here
Contact: Anaïs de Potesta
DASA Award
The DASA Award recognizes educational programs and exhibitions in museums, encompassing broader learning opportunities.
A jury of museum experts evaluates innovative approaches, audience participation, community engagement, inclusion of people with disabilities, and societal issue addressing. Evaluation methodology and results are also considered.
The award is supported by the DASA Working World Exhibition in Dortmund.
Participation enhances visibility, with the winner receiving a trophy and extra media attention through the European Museum Academy and its partners.
All participants receive taglines for communications and have the opportunity to exchange with colleagues and see extraordinary examples.
The award ceremony is organized each year in September in a different European location.
The entry fee is € 300,– per application, this amount is necessary to administer the award application, to visit the candidates and to review their work.
All museums and science centers can to apply. The applications must be submitted in English.
An international jury of museum experts from various disciplines will judge the applications. Two jury members from different countries and backgrounds will visit the institutions and report independently. The final decision is made by all members.
Status: Open
Deadline: 15 March 2026.
Application form: download here
Contact: Ann Nicholls
More information on the website of the DASA Award »
Luigi Micheletti Award
The Luigi Micheletti Award is a prestigious European museum prize honoring innovative history museums of all kinds. The award focuses on both permanent and temporary exhibitions that excel in outstanding storytelling (“history-telling”), transforming content into a distinctive and compelling narrative – one that gains meaning only in relation to contemporary society.
A jury of museum experts evaluates the exhibition’s narrative structure, its scenographic realization, and its reception by the public. Central to the assessment is the question of what form of collective identity the museum articulates and negotiates.
Eligible institutions include all museums devoted to history, ranging from archaeological museums to museums of contemporary history and memorial sites.
The aim of the award is to highlight best practices in museology, encourage innovative approaches to the narrative mediation of history, and foster a critical understanding of the past in relation to present-day society.
Status: Open
Deadline: 15 March 2026
Application form: download here
Associated Awards
Children in Museums Award
Each year Hands On! rewards the most excellent children’s exhibition or project dedicated to children with the Children in Museums Award.
For more information go to the Hands On! Children in Museums Award website »
Current status: Open
Deadline: 15 March 2026
Application form: download here
FSK Živa Award
The FSK Živa Award, launched in 2014 by the Forum of Slavic Cultures, celebrates excellence in museum practices that highlight Slavic cultural heritage. It recognizes exemplary museum practices and their contributions to museological principles and champions the diversity and richness of Slavic heritage.
Recognized by the European Museum Academy, this international contest among Slavic countries for best Slavic museum and best heritage sites recognizes exemplary museum practices and their contributions to museological principles. It aims to promote the protection, conservation, education, and information about museum collections, natural and cultural monuments, and their diverse social roles. It champions the diversity and richness of Slavic heritage, fostering international collaboration and enhancing museums’ societal impact across Europe.
Applications are free of charge and open to museums of all types, including history, natural history, technical, industrial, science centers, ethnological, architectural, literary, music, art, and others. Local, regional, national, federal, and private museums are encouraged to participate.
The Živa Award recognizes cultural and natural sites of various types, such as historic buildings, monuments, archaeological sites, museum reserves, industrial sites with cultural content, and other sites of outstanding historical, artistic, scientific, ethnological, or anthropological value.
For more information see the official FSK Živa Award website »
Status: Call information for 2026 will be published later this year.
Deadline: Closed.
Heritage in Motion Award
The Heritage in Motion Award recognizes innovative multimedia and audiovisual projects that promote, explore, or safeguard cultural heritage worldwide, opening new routes for audiences to heritage collections.
Founded in 2012 by the European Museum Academy and Europa Nostra, the Award celebrates the best examples of innovative multimedia and digital projects on cultural heritage. The first edition was held in 2014, and since 2023, it’s managed jointly by the European Museum Academy and the International Foundation Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK).
Participants compete in four categories:
1. New digital experiences
Projects leveraging advanced technology to promote cultural heritage, with an emphasis on creating immersive and interactive experiences in museums, historical sites, and heritage spaces. Examples include multimedia installations, virtual exhibits, and experiential environments.
2. Virtual and augmented reality
The use of VR and AR as tools to explore, interpret, and engage with cultural heritage, from accessing museum collections to enhancing the storytelling of historical sites.
3. Heritage audiovisuals
Audiovisual works—films, documentaries, animations, or short videos—that bring cultural heritage stories to life for a broad audience, making history accessible and compelling.
4. Heritage schools
Focused on the next generation, this category invites projects created by students (ages 15-25) exploring cultural heritage themes. This is a chance for young creators to showcase their vision and understanding of heritage through their unique perspective.
Open calls are published on our homepage.
Applications are evaluated by a jury of experienced independent professionals. The composition of the jury is published with the information on the call for applications.
Status: Call information for 2026 will be published later this year.
Deadline: Closed.
Museums in Short
The Museums in Short award is an international competition for short videos related to museums. It’s promoted by MUSIL – Museum of Industry and Labour (Italy), in collaboration with theEuropean Museum Academy and the Forum of Slavic Cultures.
The award aims to:
- Promote the use of video – encourage museums, authors, and producers to utilize audiovisual language to enhance museum communication and engage audiences.
- Showcase innovation – highlight creative and effective ways short films can disseminate museum content in an engaging and direct manner.
- Recognize excellence – award institutions, authors, or producers for outstanding short videos that enhance public awareness of the museum’s role in innovative video production.
The types of projects eligible for the “Museums in Short” award include:
- Documentaries
- Animations
- Trailers
- Visual installations
- Short videos used within exhibitions (e.g., as general introductions, multimedia content, or visual exhibits)
- Storytelling videos (including narratives, interviews, etc.)
The competition typically has different categories for videos, such as “Promotional,” “Exhibits,” and “Storytelling.” Winners are often invited to present their achievements at related museum and heritage conferences.
Status: Call information for 2026 will be published later this year.
Deadline: Closed.