The National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMΣT) won this year’s European Museum Academy Art Museum Award, edging out the Rijksmuseum and FENIX Museum of Migration in the Netherlands, Hastings Contemporary in the United Kingdom, Museum Gugging in Austria, and the National Gallery of Slovenia.
The academy conferred the award during a September 26 ceremony in Alicante, Spain, after the museum was shortlisted for the honor earlier in the month. Each year, a panel of judges visits award applicants across Europe, granting the distinction to the museum or gallery that best addresses its role as a social institution.
“Quality of production, originality of thought and a heartfelt belief in making a positive impact in everything the museum does in recent years helped EMΣT stand out in a highly competitive field of candidates,” Samuel Gallacher, chair of the award jury, said in a statement.
EMΣT began operations in 2000 and moved between the Athens Concert Hall, Athens School of Fine Arts, Athens Conservatory, and various public spaces for the first 15 years of its history. In 2015, the museum moved into its permanent location in a former brewery. Its exhibitions have included solo exhibitions on Jannis Kounellis, Yang Fudong, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Tala Madani, and Sammy Baloji, and an exhibition cycle asking What if Women Ruled the World? The museum also houses permanent collections that weave sociopolitical struggles in Greece with those in South Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
