Honiton art gallery shortlisted in prestigious awards

Thelma Hulbert Gallery (THG) announces that their Creative Cabin project has been shortlisted in the 2021 Museum + Heritage Awards.

The annual Museums + Heritage Awards recognise projects of excellence, innovation and ground-breaking initiatives from galleries and visitor attractions across the UK and overseas.

The 2021 Museum + Heritage Awards placed THG's innovative Creative Cabin in a shortlist of four for the 'Pandemic Pivot Award'.

This year, new categories were specifically designed to recognise excellent responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic and garnered a record number of submissions.

There was a time when I feared we may struggle for entries to the 2021 Museums + Heritage Awards but I couldn't have been more wrong, explains Anna Preedy, director of the Museums + Heritage Awards.

She said: "The work of the museums sector didn't grind to a halt – quite the reverse, and it is truly inspiring to see what a difference so many of our shortlistees have made to their local communities during the most challenging of times."

The 2021 shortlist was whittled down by a judging panel consisting of: Bernard Donoghue, director of ALVA; Diane Lees, director general of Imperial War Museums; Matthew Tanner, chief executive of the SS Great Britain Trust; Maggie Appleton, chief executive of the Royal Air Force Museum; Sam Mullins, director of London Transport Museum; and Caro Howell, director of the Foundling Museum.

THG is owned and managed by East Devon District Council.

Councillor Paul Arnott, leader of East Devon District Council commented: "I am delighted to see that once again the innovative outreach work from THG has been recognised with a well-deserved award nomination."

For the second consecutive year, the Museums + Heritage Awards ceremony will be taking place online, with a live-streamed event set to be hosted on 1 July by journalist, broadcaster and equal pay activist, Samira Ahmed.