There were definitely no soggy bottoms last night as Sue Perkins presented us with not just one but a trio of awards at the Museum and Heritage Awards 2014. We were delighted to receive the Best of the Best award, Best Temporary or Touring Exhibition for David Bowie is… and the Innovation award for our digital Explorer Map.
Given the competition we were thrilled to receive these awards, which recognise the creativity and hard work of all our teams and collaborators. Looking across the room as she collected the Best of the Best award, Moira Gemmill, Director of Design and FuturePlan, said that the incredible success the V&A has enjoyed over the last decade is down to a huge number of colleagues, many of whom have moved on to other organisations and it is to them, too, that we owe thanks.
It was great to be able to celebrate with some of our collaborators as well: 59 Productions and Real Studios who helped create the incredible experience that was David Bowie is… were on hand with Exhibition Co-ordinator Eleanor Townsend to collect the best Temporary or Touring Exhibition award. The judges commended the team on exploring the story behind an extraordinary personality and taking such an innovative approach. And if you missed David Bowie Is… in London, you can still catch it on tour as it opens in Berlin next week.
A big thanks from me to the V&A’s Digital Media team who’ve been quietly cracking on with a deceptively simple product that won the Innovation award – our digital Explorer Map. The judges praised it as a great example of how to connect people with collections. A special mention goes to Andrew Lewis, Luca Carini and the in house team, with brilliant support from Az Mohammed on concept development and visual design. In fact, we’re still beavering away on the map, and we’ve more exciting – and innovative – developments to share with you soon.
We’d also like to congratulate colleagues in other visitor attractions who walked away with some well deserved awards including: The Grant Museum of Zoology; the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising; Horniman Museum and Gardens and The Mary Rose Trust. Well done!
