The MAC, Belfast is in the running for the world’s largest museum prize.
It is one of five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2023 and the only museum in Northern Ireland to be shortlisted.
A £120,000 prize fund is up for grabs, which could be transformational, particularly at a time when the arts in Northern Ireland is struggling for funding.
The other shortlisted museums are The Burrell Collection (Glasgow); Leighton House (London); Natural History Museum (London) and Scapa Flow Museum (Orkney Islands).
Anne McReynolds, chief executive of the MAC, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for the Museum of the Year 2023 and to be included alongside such impressive institutions from across the UK.
"The recognition associated with this prestigious award is critical for the MAC, and for Northern Ireland, particularly at this time.
"The MAC places equal emphasis on its civic and cultural responsibility to our artists, and the communities that we serve, so this achievement is theirs as much as it is ours.”
The winning museum will be announced at a ceremony at the British Museum in London on July 12.
