UK's Art Fund names 10 galleries on prize longlist

Britain's Art Fund unveiled a longlist of 10 museums and galleries nominated for the annual 100,000 pound ($160,000) Museum of the Year prize, with institutions in England, Scotland and Wales represented.

Among the establishments contesting the award is London's British Museum for its "A History of the World" series, a partnership with the BBC which narrated global history through 100 objects from the museum's collection.

Also nominated was the Roman Baths Development in Bath, the Polar Museum at the University of Cambridge and restoration and development projects at Hertford Museum, Mostyn in Wales and the Yorkshire Museum in York.

The 10 will be reduced to a shortlist of four on May 19 and the overall winner of Britain's largest arts prize will be announced on June 15.

The judges are chaired this year by broadcaster and former cabinet minister Michael Portillo.

"Remarkable is the variety of institutions included from the tiny Hertford Museum to the V & A and British Museum," he said. "Subject matter is equally diverse, ranging from contemporary art spaces to the history of polar exploration."

Following is the longlist:

- British Museum, London/A History of the World

- Hertford Museum, Hertfordshire/Hertford Museum's Development Project

- Leighton House, London/Closer To Home: The Restoration and Reopening of Leighton House Museum

- Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales/Refurbishment and extension of Mostyn gallery

- People's History Museum, Manchester/The new People's History Museum 2010

- Polar Museum, University of Cambridge/Promoting Britain's Polar Heritage

- The new Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, Alloway, Scotland

- Roman Baths Museum, Bath/Roman Baths Development

- V&A, London/Ceramics Study Galleries

- Yorkshire Museum, York/Letting in the Light - Revitalising the Yorkshire Museum for the 21st century.