Awards & Fellowships
The National Association for Museum Exhibition Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition recognizes outstanding achievement in exhibition from all types of museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens and non-commercial institutions offering exhibitions to the public. Following is a list of past winners.
NAME also provides fellowships for young people entering the field to attend workshops and conferences. Click here for a list of past Fellowship recipients.
Twenty-Forth Annual Excellence in Exhibitions 2012
The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition recognizes exhibitions for overall excellence or for stretching the limits of exhibition content and design through innovation. Entries are peer reviewed based on criteria in seven major categories: audience awareness; content and education; curatorship and collections; evaluation; interpretation and communication; design and production; and human comfort and accessibility. Awards are sponsored by four of AAM's Professional Networks including the Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation (CARE), Curators Committee (CurCom), Education Committee (EdCom) and National Association of Museum Exhibition (NAME). Elizabeth Kunz Kollmann, the 2012 Excellence in Exhibitions Competition coordinator, said of this year’s entries, “I was really impressed with the 18 entries that we received for the Excellence in Exhibitions competition this year. Not only did they represent a broad range of topics from rock and roll music to folk art to state history, they also showed a commitment of these museums to exceptional design, addressing visitor needs, providing extraordinary educational opportunities, and tackling tough content.”
2012 Awards
Overall Excellence: Detroit Institute of Arts, Through African Eyes: The European in African Art, 1500 to the Present
This temporary exhibition examined works of art created over 500 years that serve as a visual record of diverse, evolving relationships between Africans and Westerners. The core intent of the show was to present Africans’ perspectives on a range of topics, including pre-existing beliefs about whiteness, trade and settlement, slavery and colonization, assimilation and resistance, and contemporary economic, political, and cultural globalization. The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition chose this exhibition as its overall winner because of the project’s excellent integration of visitor research and evaluation, inventive design, and clear presentation of challenging content.
Special Distinction – Eloquent Presentation of Topic: Heart Mountain Interpretive Learning Center, Across the Wire: Voices from Heart Mountain
This permanent exhibition explores the stories of World War II internment camps in the United States. Exhibits and displays reveal how rights were denied to Japanese Americans during WWII. Visitors are prompted to think about the relevance of the Heart Mountain experience to current events and the debate about the balance between freedom and national security. The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition chose this exhibition for an award of special distinction because of its sensitive and eloquent presentation of a difficult topic.
Special Distinction – Innovative Reframing of Collections: Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County, Dinosaur Hall
This permanent exhibition brings science to life in ways that are relevant and interesting to audiences and highlights the latest discoveries and the process of scientific discovery about dinosaurs. The exhibition is organized around the major questions that drive scientific research on dinosaurs today such as: “What are dinosaurs?” “What was their world like?” “What were they like as living animals?” and “What happened to them?” The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition chose this exhibition for an award of special distinction because of its inventive and inspired framing of an often-told museum topic.
Special Distinction – Exemplary Inclusion of Community Voices: Oakland Museum of California, Coming to California
This permanent exhibition provides a history of California’s people from pre-contact Native cultures to today. The overall goal of the exhibition is to provide a new type of public space within the museum—an inclusive place of inquiry, reflection, and public conversation about the history of California, with room for ongoing contributions by the museum’s communities over time. The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition chose this exhibition for an award of special distinction because of its strong commitment to addressing community needs and including community voices.
Honorable Mention: The New York Public Library, Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
This temporary exhibition highlighted the New York Public Library’s collection of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic materials with the goal of sharing information about the histories, connections, and differences between the three Abrahamic religions; fostering appreciation for the creation of these materials; and engaging diverse audiences. The Excellence in Exhibitions Competition chose this exhibition for an honorable mention award because of its topical significance, beautiful design, and inclusion of an interactive exhibit space.
Twenty-Second Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition 2010
Sponsored by CARE, CurCom, EdCom, and NAME
Special Achievement in Cooperative Learning
Skyline
Chicago Children’s Museum
Special Achievement in Community Engagement
Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor
Levine Museum of the New South
Overall Excellence Award
Dancing Shadows, Epic Tales: Wayang Kulit of Indonesia
Museum of International Folk Art
Overall Excellence Award
Tree Adventure
Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
Twenty-First Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition 2009
Excellence in Exhibition Design Award
Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World
The Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA
Excellence in Exhibition Design Award
Madagascar
Bronx Zoo and the Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx, New York
Honorable Mention
Chic Chicago
Chicago History Museum, Chicago, IL
Honorable Mention
France New France: Birth of a French People in North America
Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History, Montreal, Canada
Twentieth Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition 2008
RACE: Are we so different?
The Science Center of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN in partnership with the American Anthropological Association
Ironclad Revolution
The Mariner's Museum, Newport News, VA
Dare to Resist: Jewish Defiance in the Holocaust
Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, New York, NY
Noah's Ark
Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA
Past Award Winners
Plants Are Up to Something
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
Sensing Chicago
Chicago History Museum
The Wonder Cabinet
Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose
Evolving Planet
Field Museum
Asia Trail
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The Dark Zone
Utah Museum of Natural History
JANE:The Diary of a Dinosaur
Burpee Museum of Natural History
KISS: When a kiss isn't just a kiss
The Contemporary Art Galleries: University of Connecticut
Montreal Love Stories: The Cultural Connection
Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreal Museum of Archeology and History
Teen Chicago
Chicago Historical Society
COURAGE: The Carolina Story That Changed America
Levine Museum
Ours to Fight for: American Jews in the Second World War
Museum of Jewish Heritage
Hall of Ocean Life
The American Museum of Natural History
Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World
Milwaukee Art Museum
Playas…Gems of the Plains
Northwest Texas Museum Association
Heroes of the Sky: Adventures in Early Flight, 1903-1939
The Henry Ford
Alice's Wonderland: A Most Curious Adventure
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Invention at Play
National Museum of American History
Jellies: Living Art
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Joseph McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy
Outagamie County Historical Society
On Stage and Behind the Scenes
Indianapolis Children's Museum
Amazon Rising: Seasons of the River
Shedd Aquarium
Drumbeats: A Percussion Experience
Indianapolis Children's Museum
Revealing Bodies
Exploratorium
Congo Gorilla Forest
Bronx Zoo
Dynamic Earth
Royal Ontario Museum
Animal Eyes
Museum of Opthamology History Library, San Francisco
Egyptian Mummies
Denver Museum of Natural History
Memory
The Exploratorium
