The 24 Hour Museum - Britain's National Virtual Museum
www.24hourmuseum
editor@24hourmuseum.org.uk
PO Box 3470
Brighton
BN1 1DA
21/07/03 - Press Release - for immediate use
The 24 Hour Museum is pleased to announce the winner of the first Museum and Galleries Month / 24 Hour Museum Arts Writing Prize.
Over 30 trainee journalists and 24 Hour Museum volunteer writers from all over the UK attended MGM events and exhibitions during May with the result that 38 stories and reviews flooded the 24 Hour Museum website.
A panel of judges including Maev Kennedy of the Guardian, Loyd Grossman, chair of the Trustees of the 24 Hour Museum and Jane Morris, Editor of Museums Journal read all the stories and have named MATT HAVERCROFT, 27, a newly trained journalist based in Brighton as the winner of the £500 award.
Matt's story, 'The Real Samuel Pepys' (published 12/05/03) caught the eye of judge Maev Kennedy.
"The Real Samuel Pepys, reviewed by Matt Havercroft, I thought was lively, entertaining, and had very nicely chosen quotes," said Maev, Arts and Heritage correspondent of the Guardian.
"Not only that, it served what must be the prime purpose of a favourable review, to make the reader want to go and see the exhibition."
All over Britain during May 2003, museums, galleries and heritage sites hosted special events and exhibitions. The 24 Hour Museum team used the opportunity provided by funding from Museums and Galleries Month to organise the Arts Writing Prize.
A Communication Studies graduate, Matt has just finished post-graduate journalism training at City College, Brighton. "It was really hard work, 20 weeks of intensive tuition, including shorthand, public affairs and law," said Matt.
His exams now finished, work experience completed at Geographic Magazine, he's going off to spend his prize money on a well earned holiday!
Close runners up in the Arts Writing Prize were also congratulated by the judges: equal second was Mark McLaughlin of Glasgow. Mark's review 'The Same As You?' (published 02.06.03) was singled out by Maev Kennedy: "Much the most difficult exhibition tackled by the writers."
"It was unflashy but neatly written, but above all avoiding the patronising tone which is almost endemic in creating, or writing about, exhibitions of disabled artists."
Neil Maclean, equal second with Mark, also won praises from the judges. Neil's story was called 'Titanic Sails Again At The Science Museum'(published 21.05.03)
This is what Jane Morris, Editor of Museums Journal, said about the story: "he clearly has thought a bit about the way the exhibition has been put together and the issues it has had to deal with."
"It succeeds because it uses factual scientific information and evocative, theatrical techniques, and touches on the fact that the museum has had to balance education and entertainment with respect for the Titanic's dead"
The award was open to anyone studying journalism in the UK, on a part-time or full time course; anyone recently qualified as a journalist; and any of the existing network of 24 Hour Museum volunteer writers.
Based in Brighton, the 24 Hour Museum site aims to cover museum and gallery stories in all regions of the UK and to encourage visitors to visit heritage sites, museums and galleries. The site is updated daily, by four full-time and two part-time staff, as well as around fifteen volunteer writers.
"All in all, the arts writing prize has been a great success for the site," said Jon Pratty, Editor, 24 Hour museum. "We've achieved lots of publicity for the museums and galleries who worked so hard to make MGM 2003 a success, we've helped some very keen writers get bylines on our national publication, and we got lots of great stories!"
Notes:
The Award was co-funded by Museum and Galleries Month and the 24 Hour Museum
24 Hour Museum is funded by the DCMS (Department Of Culture Media and Sport) through Resource - the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries.
The site was set up in 1999 by the Campaign for Museums and mda (Museums Documentation Association).
Every month the site attracts around 100,000 visitor sessions and approx 200,000 + page impressions.
