Sophie Calle, immersive Edwardian experiences, and community-focussed projects: with Art Fund’s National Art Pass you don’t need to leave the UK to be entertained this summer.
Art Fund’s annual Museum of the Year prize spotlights the most exciting museums and galleries across the UK, that you might not have heard of but will definitely want to visit. Spread across the UK, each one’s a local gem just waiting to be discovered. And right in time for the summer season, the anticipated shortlist of five spots to visit has arrived, each carefully selected by Art Fund’s judging panel for their impactful projects, community-focus, and creativity. Above all, it’s the “giving back” ethos that stands out at each institution. We have rounded up (in no particular order) everything to see this summer at each place. Road trip anyone?
You can visit these places and hundreds more with great savings with Art Fund’s membership, the National Art Pass. The pass gives you free and half-price entry to museums, galleries, and historic places across the UK. We all know how exciting a great museum shop is, and with National Art Pass you’ll also enjoy special offers at museum shops and cafés – time to start filling up your summer calendar. This summer you can try a three-month trial pass for just £20 (annual membership starts from £62.25). Plus, until 30 June save an extra £5 off: grab your trial for just £15 and make your summer unforgettable.
There’s never been a better time to visit. Get a National Art Pass and start exploring! It saves you money – but your membership also supports these brilliant places, keeping them accessible for everyone to enjoy.
In partnership with Art Fund.
Beamish, The Living Museum of the North, Durham
Ever wondered how it felt to live in England’s Georgian and Edwardian era? Or through the 1940s and 1950s? Sometimes movies and books don’t quite cut it. Beamish, The Living Museum of the North in Durham is putting your imagination to rest by bringing these historic periods to life via a carefully curated lineup of immersive exhibits and experiences. This experience goes beyond everything we expect from a museum: it is a whole town replica packed with farms, shops, village houses, and even a steam engine train. Designed to commemorate the region’s history, each space has been reimagined in line with regional stories from local people, including miners from the North East’s pits and the Land Girls who looked after farms in the 1940s while the local men went to war. Everything is very cleverly thought through, from the costume to the interiors and the products dotted around. Alongside the permanent exhibits, Beamish has an exciting line up of festivals and events to check out, as well as live folk music concerts. The museum is open air: bookmark this museum for a sunny summer day.
Chapter, Cardiff
Community is at the heart of Chapter, Cardiff’s international centre for contemporary arts. Not just a gallery, but also home to artists’ studios, theatres, cinemas, rehearsal and hire spaces, Chapter accommodated 80 local and international artists and creative companies between 2023 and 2024. The space was established by Christine Kinsey and Bryan Jones – both artists – and writer Mik Flood in 1971 as a welcoming space for creatives of all kinds to express themselves and the world around them, as well as a space for local communities to enjoy this art. Stop by to see the new commissions (added between 2023 and 2024) by international artists, British visual artist Steve McQueen’s tribute to Grenfell, and some great international and independent cinema. There’s so much to see: carve out an afternoon to spend soaking in the exhibitions, enjoying the community garden, and then finish the day at Caffi Bar or by splitting a West Pizza.
Compton Verney, Warwick
Art and nature both come into play at Compton Verney, which has housed the likes of Louise Bourgeois, as well as six world-class collections (including the Golden Age of Neapolitan art) and more in its Grade I listed mansion since 2004, amongst 120 acres of beautifully kept parkland. The permanent exhibitions here are reason enough to visit (including the sculpture park featuring work by Sarah Lucas and Helen Chadwick). But the summer programme looks pretty good too. British artist Emma Talbot is opening a large scale exhibition titled How We Learn to Love running from 5 July to 5 October this year, which will see her vibrant explorations of the sub-conscious appear via multi-mediums. Photographic installation artist Gayle Chong Kwan (who has just completed an 18 month residency at Compton Verney) will present The Taotie in which her photos and videos – creatively responding to the gallery’s Chinese collection – will be hung alongside these artefacts. Every month, the museum hosts a dementia friendly cafe, where those living with dementia or caring for someone with dementia have a nurturing space to talk and socialise.
Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast
This leading contemporary art gallery is a popular spot in Belfast for discovering some of the biggest names working from Ireland at the moment. The programme is packed with contextual experiences, workshops, and exhibitions. The exhibition to catch at Golden Thread this summer is Beyond the Gaze – Shared Perspectives running from 21 June to 27 August which will exhibit French writer and photographer – and a big name in contemporary art – Sophie Calle’s conceptual art of video and photography in Ireland for the first time ever. Don’t miss the Kevin Killen sculpture while you are here, which incorporates community stories into its design. Plus, Golden Thread Gallery reopened following a move and renovations in 2024. Now located in the city centre, it’s easier than ever to stop by.
Perth Museum, Scotland
Once the city hall, this Edwardian listed building in Perth, Scotland once housed almost 100 years of social and political debates and local governance – a cornerstone building for local communities. The striking hall-turned-museum now narrates 10,000 years of Scottish history and beyond, with a special new layout and design thanks to Dutch architects Mecanoo. The most famous work here is the Stone of Destiny, a carved megalith that was used to coronate Scottish monarchs – recently returned to Perthshire where it was believed to have originated from – after 700 years. Also worth visiting, the Macbeth Exhibition is now open, and runs until 31 August, which is an immersive journey through where fantasy and history collide to form the infamous tale of MacBeth. The exhibition draws attention to the similarities between the well-read drama and parts of Scottish history, and even includes a medieval sword from the era of the real King Macbeth that has never been on public display before: history buffs, this one is for you!
Lead image: Chapter. Credit David Levene Art Fund 2025. Artwork ROMANTIC IRELAND 2024 Eimear Walshe
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