The recently reconstructed Air Force Museum in Linköping won two double awards on Wednesday, when it was named the 2011 Swedish Museum of the Year, and earned the award for the 2010 Exhibition of the Year.
The foremost awards for Swedish museums were announced in Stockholm at the spring meeting of the Association of Swedish Museums in Stockholm on Wednesday, 30 March. The 2011 Swedish Museum of the Year award is sponsored by the Swedish chapter of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the Association of Swedish Museums. The award for the 2010 Exhibition of the Year is sponsored by FORUM for exhibitors.
The Jury gave the following explanation for its choice for the 2011 Swedish Museum of the year:
”For realising its vision of placing the Swedish Air Force in a broad cultural and historical context. Using an innovative idiom of exhibitions, the Museum tells an important story of Swedish policies and foreign relations. Painful memories are handled with a good deal of balance between facts, emotions, ethics and aesthetics. And all this keeps the needs of the visitors in focus. This is a museum for everyone, fresh and up to date.”
But there is more. The Air Force Museum also won the prize for the 2010 Exhibition of the Year. The exhibition winning the award was “Acts of Secrecy – the DC-3 that Disappeared”, which was produced by Olle Emilsson, Mia Sas and Peter Andersson of the Air Force Museum.
Museum Director Mikael Parr commented:
"I am both moved and delighted, and I see these awards as evidence of the success of our efforts to become a modern museum of technology and cultural history. We have broadened our offering, and become a major, attractive destination for many more visitors”.
In June 2010, a double as large Air Force Museum was re-dedicated after a major reconstruction and expansion. This included a separate exhibition hall for the downed DC-3, space for special exhibition, a science centre, restaurant, and more. Since June, the number of visitors increased from an expected figure of 50,000 per year to more than 120,000 during the second part of the year, alone.
Additional information
Mikael Parr, Director, Air Force Museum, telephone: +46 (0)13-495 97 09