0:00:02 > 0:00:04What do Birmingham's hidden gem,
0:00:04 > 0:00:06a temple for contemporary art,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08a shrine to horse racing,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11an altar to 20th-century sculpture,
0:00:11 > 0:00:14and a Victorian cabinet of curiosities have in common?
0:00:16 > 0:00:21They've all been nominated for the Art Fund's Museum of the Year Award 2017.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24This summer, a team of judges have been hightailing
0:00:24 > 0:00:27it across the country to see which of these five fine
0:00:27 > 0:00:32institutions will be crowned the winner of the £100,000 prize.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37From interactive exhibits to stores of deep learning,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41these five remarkable museums really showcase how innovative
0:00:41 > 0:00:43and productive the sector is,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46but against the backdrop of soaring visitor numbers
0:00:46 > 0:00:50and a decline in public funding, 2017's record number of applications
0:00:50 > 0:00:54for the prize shows just how tight the competition will be.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I have also been visiting each of the nominees over the past
0:00:58 > 0:01:01few weeks, to discover what makes them
0:01:01 > 0:01:04stand out in this thriving cultural landscape.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This is the Museum of the Year Award 2017.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22The last six months have been quite an upheaval for me.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25After almost seven years as a Labour Member of Parliament, I stood
0:01:25 > 0:01:28down from Westminster in January to take on a new challenge,
0:01:28 > 0:01:33as director of the V&A Museum in the heart of London.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Though I may appear to have swapped one grand Victorian
0:01:36 > 0:01:39institution for another by leaving the House of Commons,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43this museum is focused on the future.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46With over a century and a half of pioneering work
0:01:46 > 0:01:50already behind it, the V&A is committed to championing design
0:01:50 > 0:01:56and nurturing the next generation of artists and innovators.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00The V&A won the Museum of the Year prize in 2016, following a stunning
0:02:00 > 0:02:04run of exhibitions, culminating in its Alexander McQueen show.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11This summer we start a new chapter, as we open up a courtyard
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and gallery on Exhibition Road,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16putting the V&A back at the heart of Albertopolis.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20My hope is that the V&A's Exhibition Road Quarter proves to be
0:02:20 > 0:02:25the most striking piazza to open in the UK for a generation.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29The V&A has allocated its winning prize-money on piloting
0:02:29 > 0:02:32an education programme to supercharge skills in art and
0:02:32 > 0:02:37design, but as we get ready to hand over the mantle of Museum of the
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Year to one of the 2017 nominees, let's go and meet the finalists.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Jockeying for position is the National Heritage
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Centre for Horse Racing & Sporting Art in Newmarket,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51home of the famous racecourse.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Does it have what it takes to go the extra mile in this hotly
0:02:55 > 0:02:58contested race?
0:02:58 > 0:03:02Last year, the museum reopened after a decade-long restoration project.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07We're in Palace House, which was built in the late 17th century
0:03:07 > 0:03:12for King Charles II to come up to Newmarket to see his horses.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16And the museum has put on some of the great works of British
0:03:16 > 0:03:20art depicting sporting pastimes, and my favourite
0:03:20 > 0:03:24is on loan from the Victoria & Albert Museum which is this 18th-century
0:03:24 > 0:03:30screen showing all of the multiple layers of British sporting
0:03:30 > 0:03:34pastimes, from card-playing to cockfighting,
0:03:34 > 0:03:39to fox hunting, to horse racing, to shooting, to angling,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44and it shows just what an important part sport played to British
0:03:44 > 0:03:48culture and British identity during the 18th century.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52And that's at the heart of what this museum celebrates.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55The collection here straddles both old and new,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59including a piece by the Turner prize winner Mark Wallinger.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03I think art and sport feed us in ways that are rather similar,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06and they tend to be seen as a sort of dichotomy.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08As a sporting fan, not just of racing,
0:04:08 > 0:04:13but of other sports as well, there's a spectacle, there is
0:04:13 > 0:04:16a kind of emotional fulfilment, there's an anaesthetic.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20I think sport and art are very, very much linked.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24And I think uniquely this museum opens up onto that.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28The museum is much more than just a collection of artworks though.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32It even provides unexpected insight into the jockey's skill.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Straight legs, and bring this bit, just, that's it, you're going to...
0:04:40 > 0:04:43- That's it?- You're going to pretend look through Legless's ears.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45- God...- Not as easy as it looks!
0:04:45 > 0:04:46THEY LAUGH
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Not if you're six foot three either! - Are you ready?- Yeah, yeah.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54OK.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55SHE LAUGHS
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Oh!
0:05:00 > 0:05:01HE LAUGHS
0:05:01 > 0:05:04No! HE LAUGHS
0:05:04 > 0:05:07- Okey dokey, the winning post is in front of you.- Exactly, exactly.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11Oh, well done.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12Beauty!
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Oh! HE LAUGHS
0:05:17 > 0:05:19So, how did this great venture come about?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23I met with museum director Chris Garibaldi to find out more.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25This is the incredible thing about this museum.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29It's this mix of fine art, of science, and then livestock.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32It seems focused both on those who are passionate about horse racing
0:05:32 > 0:05:34and those who don't really know the sport at all.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Absolutely, and I think that's one of the main things that we're
0:05:37 > 0:05:39trying to do is say, you know, if you're a complete racing nut,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41for want of another expression,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43you'll find things that you didn't know about the sport,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46but actually if you don't know one end of a horse from another,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50you don't think you're interested in horse racing, you might even think you're not interested definitely,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54you'll find an extraordinary layering of culture that sits behind the sport.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56And also the combination of sporting art generally,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59this is a gallery of the art of all sport, not just horse racing,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01so it's horse racing in context.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05What we've also got here is an incredible gem in the heart of Newmarket,
0:06:05 > 0:06:08just off a very busy high street with normal traditional
0:06:08 > 0:06:10high-street shops, and you just wouldn't know,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13if you stepped step back, what you've managed to create here.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Give us a sense of the regeneration that you've brought to this land.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20It's about totally recasting Newmarket's tourist offer so that,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23you know, apart from anything else, in the past you could come to
0:06:23 > 0:06:25Newmarket after 12 o'clock, you wouldn't have seen a racehorse.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Now that's crazy. There's 3,000 of them in the town.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29So this is to open the doors.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32You know, those horses are behind closed doors for a reason.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- They are multi-million pound assets. - Yeah.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36They have to be treated very, very carefully.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Trainers can't have the public trampling through all the time,
0:06:39 > 0:06:44but we can give that kind of open access, as they come and see these, they're beautiful animals.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Perhaps the magic that really marks Newmarket out from the rest
0:06:49 > 0:06:53is the presence of live racehorses as part of the museum.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54HORSE WHINNIES
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Joe, we've seen some of the art in this museum,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00but this is such a living, dynamic museum, and one of its purposes
0:07:00 > 0:07:05is giving horses, previously jumping horses, racehorses, a second career.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07Tell us something about the purpose of that.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- What we're about is asking a horse what it's able to do.- Right.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13And then finding the right future for it.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And if they don't perform in an arena, you can
0:07:15 > 0:07:17look at taking them out for team chasing or endurance riding,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and if they do perform in an arena, you can
0:07:20 > 0:07:23look at dressage and showjumping, and there's always eventing,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25so there are so many options for them to move on to.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28And the museum's sort of a tribute to the thoroughbreds,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31so having the thoroughbred here is very special.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33And we get people coming in who haven't been
0:07:33 > 0:07:36within 100 yards of a horse, and they can get up close to
0:07:36 > 0:07:39these fabulous horses, and they're very sensitive, these horses.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- They can sense how bold they can be with the visitors.- Right.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43And it's a joy to watch.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Another museum which has impressed the punters these
0:07:51 > 0:07:55past 12 months, albeit without the aid of on-site horses,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58is the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02As part of the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06with the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and Sculpture Park nearby, the
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Hepworth has helped in regenerating a neglected corner of the city.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15It's not just the interiors which are full of delights
0:08:15 > 0:08:17at the Hepworth Gallery.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19The building too is a really spectacular
0:08:19 > 0:08:23intervention by the architect David Chipperfield.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27As the largest purpose-built gallery in the country for 50 years,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31it's spearheading the regeneration of this part of Wakefield.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37The gallery plays host to some of the most exciting
0:08:37 > 0:08:40exhibitions in the country, including a spectacular show earlier
0:08:40 > 0:08:43this year called Disobedient Bodies,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47curated by the fashion industry wunderkind JW Anderson.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52I was kind of looking at this idea that, you know,
0:08:52 > 0:08:57disobedient as a word, and which designers and sculptors had,
0:08:57 > 0:09:03kind of, used the body in their period or in context,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and changed the way in which we perceive it,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09the way in which we look at it, and the way in which, you know,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13from over the last hundred years and how we have reinterpreted it,
0:09:13 > 0:09:18both in clothing, in ceramics, or dance, and in a way in which,
0:09:18 > 0:09:23in their period, they were kind of disobedient to the norm.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27I wanted this show to be the best show that was never in London.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29HE LAUGHS
0:09:29 > 0:09:31So I'm glad it's here.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Now, sometimes fashion can seem quite a distant
0:09:35 > 0:09:39and austere subject to deal with, and yet here we're
0:09:39 > 0:09:43surrounded with these wonderful, tactile, super-long jumpers.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And I know that some of the school groups from Wakefield have really enjoyed coming in here.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Tell us about some of the education work going on?
0:09:49 > 0:09:52We've been working really closely with Wakefield schools.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56We have, generally, the public really love to get involved,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59so there's always a weird thing with fashion that people just
0:09:59 > 0:10:00want to touch it, it's very tactile,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04so this is really about encouraging people to get into the jumpers,
0:10:04 > 0:10:08get dressed up in them and have an opportunity to actually
0:10:08 > 0:10:11experience the garments in a different way.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13- So, these can be ties, these can be scarves?- Yeah.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18We've also run life drawing for a local college,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22where we had dancers moving and using the garments
0:10:22 > 0:10:26and people drawing from that so it's been amazing to have this
0:10:26 > 0:10:29kind of participatory element to an exhibition and
0:10:29 > 0:10:32it's really unusual and we have taken full advantage of that.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Despite specialising in the vanguard of contemporary art,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41much of the gallery's space is dedicated to its
0:10:41 > 0:10:45namesake - Barbara Hepworth, a giant of 20th-century sculpture.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Simon, how important is it to be celebrating here
0:10:51 > 0:10:53in the Barbara Hepworth Gallery...
0:10:55 > 0:10:59..an artist who came from Wakefield and whose connections to
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Yorkshire, the architecture, the place, are
0:11:01 > 0:11:03so important to her work?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07I think it's crucial that you can see Hepworth's work
0:11:07 > 0:11:11in the county that was so important to her development as
0:11:11 > 0:11:13an artist - this relationship between the urban
0:11:13 > 0:11:15environment - Wakefield, where she grew up...
0:11:15 > 0:11:18And the amazing countryside around us. I think that was a
0:11:18 > 0:11:22huge part of her development as an artist.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25And obviously being here where you see many of the tools
0:11:25 > 0:11:28that she used to create her work, is a really interesting
0:11:28 > 0:11:31opportunity to understand about the physical making,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35that relationship between mind and body, eye and the hand,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38you get this sense of the made-ness, the physical stuff
0:11:38 > 0:11:41that was so important to her as a sculptor.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43And how do visitors respond to seeing the bench,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48the chisel, the artefacts just almost ready to touch,
0:11:48 > 0:11:49to take back up and work again?
0:11:49 > 0:11:52I think that's exactly right, it is that feel that should never
0:11:52 > 0:11:54be lost.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57She was a highly political, highly intellectual artist
0:11:57 > 0:12:00but actually what matters most, this sort of embodied
0:12:00 > 0:12:03spirituality in the work, which is so much about tuning in
0:12:03 > 0:12:06to the materials that meant so much to her
0:12:06 > 0:12:08but also the tools that meant so much to her.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10I mean, physically how did she do this?
0:12:10 > 0:12:14And this gallery does give a very clear sense of the importance
0:12:14 > 0:12:15of making.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18The biggest development for the gallery in the
0:12:18 > 0:12:21past 12 months, was the launching of the biennial Hepworth Prize,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25a £30,000 award for the best sculptor based in Britain.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Last year, Helen Marten won, before going on to win
0:12:29 > 0:12:32the Turner Prize. Has that generated new enthusiasm
0:12:32 > 0:12:35- around the discipline? - I think it did.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The numbers speak for themselves. It was one of the most popular
0:12:38 > 0:12:41shows we've ever put on. But the level of debate, you know,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44from schoolkids through to lifelong learners,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47was absolutely fantastic, so it made sculpture a
0:12:47 > 0:12:51really live topic of debate, created a great buzz
0:12:51 > 0:12:54and I think, you know, Hepworth would have been delighted
0:12:54 > 0:12:57with us coming up with something so inventive, to extend her legacy.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06The hidden gem on this year's short list
0:13:06 > 0:13:09has to be the Lapworth Museum of Geology at Birmingham University.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13After decades as an institution catering mainly to
0:13:13 > 0:13:15professional palaeontologists and academics,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19the Lapworth reopened last year with a much more
0:13:19 > 0:13:21family-orientated focus.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25One of the really elegant innovations that
0:13:25 > 0:13:28the revamp of the Lapworth has allowed is this
0:13:28 > 0:13:31sensory rock wall, which allows you to feel
0:13:31 > 0:13:35the difference between the igneous rock and the sedimentary rock.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Now, as a historian, I should probably know
0:13:38 > 0:13:40the difference between the two but it's always good to get
0:13:40 > 0:13:42a refresher course.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Some of these specimens are millions of years old.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50By allowing people to get up close and personal
0:13:50 > 0:13:52with these rocks, a visit to the Lapworth provides
0:13:52 > 0:13:56an unrivalled opportunity to get to grips
0:13:56 > 0:13:57with the history of our planet.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Much of the work behind the redevelopment
0:14:02 > 0:14:05was carried out by a loyal army of volunteers,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08including the veteran quartz cleaner, Margaret.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13So, Margaret, how long have you been working on these minerals?
0:14:13 > 0:14:18So, I've been coming to Lapworth lectures for at least 25 years.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23And so, when they got the Lottery money,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26- I decided it was payback time.- OK.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And that I would actually volunteer to do some work,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32so I got the relevant training and...
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- ..took it from there.- Right, so what happens next?
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- You've dusted it... - I've dusted it, so I now start...
0:14:41 > 0:14:42..seeing what comes off.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46What was the biggest mineral you did? Is this a normal-size one
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- or is this...?- Oh, I have done bigger ones than this...
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Yeah, yeah.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53And then having gone to all those lectures and now working
0:14:53 > 0:14:56on it, do you reflect on what you learnt in the lectures?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I would come away from lectures thinking that I hadn't
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- really understood it.- Right. - But if you do this for 25 years...
0:15:03 > 0:15:05you gradually pick things up.
0:15:05 > 0:15:06HE LAUGHS
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- It's beginning to shine, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Margaret, the case upstairs is full of the most
0:15:12 > 0:15:14beautifully glistening, cleaned minerals.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19How many of those were you responsible for?
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Well, as far as I know I was responsible for all of them.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24That's quite an achievement.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27- Yeah, well, you've just got to stick at it, haven't you?- Yes.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- If you know the job's got to be done...- Exactly.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- ..you do it.- Yes! Exactly.
0:15:32 > 0:15:33LAUGHTER
0:15:41 > 0:15:44As part of its extraordinary collection,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46the Lapworth holds some of the most important specimens
0:15:46 > 0:15:49of fossils in the world, including a not-so-humble beetle
0:15:49 > 0:15:51from nearby.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Now, one of the crown jewels of this collection is sitting here,
0:15:55 > 0:16:00which is known as the Dudley Bug. Tell us about the Dudley Bug.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03OK, so the Dudley Bug is a trilobite.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Trilobites were woodlice-like marine animals
0:16:06 > 0:16:08that lived on the bottom of the ocean floor.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12This one was living around 428 million years ago.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15And this particular fossil comes from Dudley,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18so just to the west of here, which is why it's
0:16:18 > 0:16:20known as the Dudley Bug. It's particularly famous
0:16:20 > 0:16:23in the local area, it once featured on the Dudley coat of arms.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26And this particular specimen is actually the holotype specimen,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29so the holotype is the specimen on which
0:16:29 > 0:16:33- the species was originally scientifically defined.- Fantastic.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- The Dudley Bug, it's a star.- It's a fantastic object, yeah.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The remarkable success of the redevelopment
0:16:40 > 0:16:43has been down to the tireless work of the Lapworth's director.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45John Clatworthy.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48How do you marry that balance between the demands
0:16:48 > 0:16:52of incredibly sophisticated serious scholarship
0:16:52 > 0:16:56for a university audience and the kids we saw running around today,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59sticking their noses up against the glass panels,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01trying to understand about dinosaurs?
0:17:01 > 0:17:05I think one of the great things is that actually a lot of the
0:17:05 > 0:17:08academics are just... And research students and a lot
0:17:08 > 0:17:11of them who are helping us out, are really keen to do public
0:17:11 > 0:17:14engagement and they want to get their research
0:17:14 > 0:17:16and what they are doing, across to the public
0:17:16 > 0:17:19in an engaging way. I think the way our audience has changed,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23the way the public, the community has embraced the museum
0:17:23 > 0:17:26since it's reopened, clearly shows that it can do both
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and it can be very welcoming
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- and engaging for the public. - And they've also embraced
0:17:32 > 0:17:35this idea which the judges pointed to, that
0:17:35 > 0:17:40the great achievement of your curators, your educational team,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43is making rocks sexy! So this is a really attractive...
0:17:43 > 0:17:45It's a visually engaging... It's an exciting place
0:17:45 > 0:17:48dealing with sedimentary, igneous rocks.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53And I think we have tried to do that using modern technology
0:17:53 > 0:17:57in what is an old museum, but trying to retain its history.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It is about bringing that science to life,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03so we've done animations, very high-quality animations.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07All sorts of modern, cutting-edge sort of work,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10to bringing those to life and bringing the stories to life.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The biggest story in the museum world this year has to be
0:18:18 > 0:18:21the opening of the £260 million Blavatnik building
0:18:21 > 0:18:25at Tate Modern. Already one of the most popular attractions
0:18:25 > 0:18:29in the country, this ten-storey extension heralded
0:18:29 > 0:18:32a 25% surge in visitor numbers to almost six million,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36placing it just behind the British Museum and National Gallery.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39What is it about contemporary art that keeps drawing in
0:18:39 > 0:18:40the crowds?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Did you enjoy your visit? Was it the space of it?
0:18:43 > 0:18:44Was it the art? What did you like?
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Fantastic, I love the new building, the space is really creative,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50it makes you look in different angles and different ways.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I just love the space and the unexpectedness of turning a
0:18:53 > 0:18:56corner, not quite sure what you're going to see!
0:18:56 > 0:18:57Or feel about it, either.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59I specially came to see the building.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02I think a lot of people just think, "Oh, it's a nice building."
0:19:02 > 0:19:04But actually to go inside is pretty incredible.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I always just come back to see Monet.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- Piet Mondrian.- Rothko?
0:19:08 > 0:19:09Pablo Picasso and Dali.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Alongside the new building, the permanent collection underwent a
0:19:16 > 0:19:20substantial re-hanging, with a determined focus on female and
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Latin American artists. Much of this is down to the vision
0:19:24 > 0:19:26of Tate Modern's director, Frances Morris,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29who took up her post last year.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Frances, it's one year since the Blavatnik building opened
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and since then Tate Modern has become the third-most popular
0:19:35 > 0:19:40visitor attraction in the UK. Are you surprised by this success
0:19:40 > 0:19:42or did you see it coming?
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Well, we were doing pretty well before we opened
0:19:45 > 0:19:48the new Tate Modern with the Blavatnik building
0:19:48 > 0:19:52but we did want to expand what we do and we did want to respond
0:19:52 > 0:19:55to the changing dynamic of art and the changing needs of the audience,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59so the fact that we have grown our audience since then is
0:19:59 > 0:20:01very gratifying and I think it's partly a result
0:20:01 > 0:20:04of the fact that this building is really about,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07the way art can be activated by the audience.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11So, how does the Blavatnik Building work with the
0:20:11 > 0:20:13sort of Original Tate Modern space in terms of
0:20:13 > 0:20:15the Turbine Hall?
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Well, it connects at three levels, so there's great
0:20:17 > 0:20:20people traffic between the Boiler House, the Turbine Hall,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23The Tanks, which is the base of this building,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and then the floors above it, where we have galleries.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29And the significant shift is that this new building
0:20:29 > 0:20:32and these new galleries really focus on art since 1960.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36So that moment in the world when artists began making
0:20:36 > 0:20:39really, kind of, invasive, spatially intense sculptures
0:20:39 > 0:20:42that engage with the visitor in a different way.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44And that in turn then has...
0:20:45 > 0:20:49..encouraged audiences to feel a desire to participate,
0:20:49 > 0:20:52to get more actively involved as audiences
0:20:52 > 0:20:53but also as makers.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56One of the really special things about having this
0:20:56 > 0:20:59new building was that we've been able to build in
0:20:59 > 0:21:02live art into the collection and that's pretty much a first,
0:21:02 > 0:21:03I think, for any museum.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07There is a lot of money around contemporary art,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09around the art fairs, yet we also know
0:21:09 > 0:21:13that we have to do a lot to make sure that there's capacity
0:21:13 > 0:21:16- for artists to grow, particularly in a expensive city...- Yeah.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20..like London. How do you create that kind of artistic dynamic
0:21:20 > 0:21:22of the future?
0:21:22 > 0:21:24What is your role as an incubator for future talent?
0:21:24 > 0:21:27We are an incubator writ large, we're a safe place to take risks
0:21:27 > 0:21:30both in the Turbine Hall and in Tate Exchange
0:21:30 > 0:21:34but one of the things that in a global city like London,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37where property prices and real estate are squeezing provision
0:21:37 > 0:21:39for artists right across the piece...
0:21:39 > 0:21:43I think our network of support across the regions
0:21:43 > 0:21:46in the UK is incredibly important for nurturing talent.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49I've just been to Leeds and met a wonderful group
0:21:49 > 0:21:51of young artists who are absolutely flourishing in Leeds
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and I know the same thing is happening in Manchester
0:21:54 > 0:21:58and Birmingham and Glasgow and Bristol and so on.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01And actually it's really important that Tate isn't just about
0:22:01 > 0:22:04London, Tate Modern is part of this regional network
0:22:04 > 0:22:07of galleries and I think it's supporting those galleries
0:22:07 > 0:22:12and those... Germinating talent, incubators in those places
0:22:12 > 0:22:16that's just as important as nurturing it here.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18You once said, I remember, that the point of a gallery
0:22:18 > 0:22:22or a museum is to be a safe space for unsafe ideas.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24- That's right, absolutely. - Is that still...?
0:22:24 > 0:22:26- Yeah. Yes!- That's still the ambition?- Yes! Absolutely.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Yeah, yeah, yeah...
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Take a risk and it's a fun thing to do at Tate Modern.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34In order to determine the ultimate winner of
0:22:34 > 0:22:37the Museum of The Year award, each year the Art Fund
0:22:37 > 0:22:41appoints five judges whose task it is to travel up and down
0:22:41 > 0:22:45the country to inspect each of the five nominees for themselves.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48These are, really, the best in class because they
0:22:48 > 0:22:52know their objects so well and they know their work so well
0:22:52 > 0:22:56that they know how to explain it to people who are, most of us,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59including the judges, are not experts.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01It's like the Mercury music prize, all you can do...
0:23:01 > 0:23:04You are trying to compare fantastic places...
0:23:04 > 0:23:07And it's really, really hard to choose the ultimate one
0:23:07 > 0:23:10but if you can make people aware that there is something great going
0:23:10 > 0:23:12on and you can get people through the door,
0:23:12 > 0:23:13then I think our work is done.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Today it's the turn of Sir John Soane's Museum in London,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20to host the jury.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23The museum is no stranger to competitions, though,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26including one gauntlet which I have particularly
0:23:26 > 0:23:29fond memories of. One of the many gems inside
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Sir John Soane's Museum is the Picture Room
0:23:31 > 0:23:35at the heart of it sits the work of Hogarth
0:23:35 > 0:23:37and here is a particular favourite for me -
0:23:37 > 0:23:41his election cycle. Now, here you see some pretty good
0:23:41 > 0:23:44old-fashioned 18th-century politicking at work.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Bribing the voters with oysters and gin.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Very different to the kind of Labour Party fundraisers that I used
0:23:51 > 0:23:52to be involved with.
0:23:52 > 0:23:57Not nearly so exciting or full of drama. But there are some
0:23:57 > 0:24:00rich characters within this, who...
0:24:00 > 0:24:04I can certainly see echoes of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10And then as it proceeds, the... Shall we say...
0:24:10 > 0:24:13The gentle encouragement through financial reward,
0:24:13 > 0:24:18of voting... And then a sort of sense of patriotic pride
0:24:18 > 0:24:22about what general elections should be about.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26We've got the lion eating a symbol of France.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30As ever with Hogarth, it's just so rich with history,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33with satire, with cynicism
0:24:33 > 0:24:35and a sense of what politics is about.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40This set of paintings, like the vast majority of the
0:24:40 > 0:24:43rest of the collection here, was acquired by the architect
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Sir John Soane in the 19th century.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Because of the extraordinary amount of curios he collected
0:24:50 > 0:24:53in his lifetime, he planned for his home and collection
0:24:53 > 0:24:56to be made available to the public after his death.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01For the past 180 years, this house has welcomed visitors
0:25:01 > 0:25:04curious about Soane's life and tastes.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09Though the museum regularly hosts works from contemporary artists,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12like Sarah Lucas, or their current exhibition by Marc Quinn,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15it has long prided itself on how it preserves
0:25:15 > 0:25:19the house in the same conditions in which Soane himself lived.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24The last seven years have seen the museum undergo an extensive
0:25:24 > 0:25:28restoration project, to ensure it's indistinguishable
0:25:28 > 0:25:31today from what Soane would have seen.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Bruce, 2016 was a fantastic year for the Sir John Soane's Museum,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39the culmination of a seven-year restoration project
0:25:39 > 0:25:43across this remarkable townhouse in the middle of London...
0:25:44 > 0:25:47The staff here must be delighted with the
0:25:47 > 0:25:49transformation of this institution?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Yes, we all are, in fact it's more than seven years,
0:25:52 > 0:25:53it's really 30 years
0:25:53 > 0:25:56because it started in the middle of the 1980s.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59It was the beginning of this rethinking of how
0:25:59 > 0:26:03can we bring the Soane back as nearly as possible
0:26:03 > 0:26:07to the way it was in Soane's day, when he died in 1837.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10Because we think of the Soane as like a fly in amber
0:26:10 > 0:26:14but in fact it's changed constantly in its 180-year career.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And is there something very specific about a museum
0:26:18 > 0:26:23focused on the vision of an individual man of
0:26:23 > 0:26:26world-historic importance? You're wrestling with the
0:26:26 > 0:26:29legacy of an individual, his meaning,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and then also the particularities of a house and the
0:26:32 > 0:26:35nature of a home, even the apartment where he would live...
0:26:35 > 0:26:40Yes, it's a good question. It always has to be a balance.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44But fortunately, Soane, believed very much in contemporary art.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47When he was building his collection, he invested
0:26:47 > 0:26:52not only in antiquities, but also in contemporary
0:26:52 > 0:26:54British art and he wanted his collection,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57both the ancient and the modern, to serve as an inspiration
0:26:57 > 0:27:01for future generations of architects, artists,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03designers and the general public.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Tell us something about the Marc Quinn installations,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09those are very dramatic pieces, which on the one hand
0:27:09 > 0:27:13feel, arguably quite jarring within that environment,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and yet they seem to blend so well.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19They are, essentially, variations on the embrace.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24You have two bodies, the body of the dancer, who is his muse,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and then the sculptor's own arms embracing her.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31So it has echoes of classical sculptures
0:27:31 > 0:27:33of abduction, of Bernini.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37The whole concept of the fragment really fits in to the museum.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42And also, in different rooms with different works of art,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44they take on a different aspect.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53So that's it for this year. The votes have been cast
0:27:53 > 0:27:56and all the nominees have gathered at the British Museum,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58to find out who the winner is going to be.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07The winner of the Art Fund's Museum of the Year 2017 is...
0:28:08 > 0:28:10..The Hepworth Wakefield.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11CHEERING
0:28:16 > 0:28:20I'm not going to speak, except to say this is all down
0:28:20 > 0:28:23to these people here. Most particularly, their leader,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Simon Wallis! Simon!
0:28:29 > 0:28:32A huge congratulations to The Hepworth Wakefield,
0:28:32 > 0:28:34for winning Museum of the Year 2017.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37To play us out, we have a selection of highlights from
0:28:37 > 0:28:39their collection. Enjoy...