The European Museum of the Year Award, or EMYA, is presented by the European Museum Forum, an organisation that has pursued the development of European museum activities for more than 40 years.
After a rigorous selection process and visits from the jury, the museum was one of 50 museums from across Europe selected as a nominee for EMYA. The winner will be announced during the European Museum Forum’s annual conference to be held on 1-4 May in Portimão, Portugal.
“The fact that Vrak has been nominated among hundreds of applicants is a great honour,” says Odd Johansen, museum director. “It confirms that it’s possible to build a new state-owned museum about an area unfamiliar to many people – shipwrecks and the maritime cultural heritage under the sea – in an innovative way, and by consistently applying a sustainability mindset in both our museum and the gift shop. Our ideas on how to sustainably manage cultural heritage are starting to gain wider recognition.”
Only once before has a museum from Sweden won the award – Sundsvall Museum in 1989.