Museum of the National Bank of Belgium

Hollywood has its Oscars, and Belgium’s museums have their own Museum Prize. The 2010 Museum Prize ceremony will take place on Tuesday 1 June. Will the National Bank of Belgium’s Museum be among the winners?

Things are looking good, in any case. The Museum has been nominated for the first time in its history in the “Brussels Museums” category, where it is in good company: apart from the NBB’s Museum, the nominees include: Cinematek, the Magritte Museum, the Van Buuren Museum and Gardens and the Horta Museum. Perhaps more than just the attendance numbers, the jury takes into account such things as the nominated museums’ relationship with the public and the initiatives that they are taking to get the public at large involved in all aspects of their work. How does the museum present and communicate information, which are the target sectors of the public and how are they kept informed?

The Museum’s record number of visitors in 2009 – no less than 29,365 people – as well as its ever-expanding range of educational material will certainly not have escaped the jury’s scrutiny. However, a nomination is one thing, but actually winning the award is quite another. So, fingers crossed!

The rules are a bit different for the Public Prize. It is you that will make all the difference here! If you appreciate the work done by the NBB Museum team and would like to help it along, don’t hesitate to vote for us. All you have to do is to click the “votez pour moi” button, select “Bruxelles” and “Musée de la Banque nationale de Belgique”. With a bit of luck, you might even win a nice prize yourself. In a few weeks’ time, we will know which of the Brussels-based museums have scooped the awards!