Oxford’s Story Museum is this year’s winner of the JM Barrie Award for Outstanding Achievement, granted in recognition of their significant contribution to children’s arts and literature.
This marks the second time that the museum has received national recognition since its reopening in 2021 and the first since it opened its new permanent gallery, The Story Arcade, earlier this year.
The award – which this year highlights the themes of early years, the power of stories, and the ties between arts and sciences – highlights the work which the Museum has done for local schools and communities. Programmes operated by the Museum have shown the museum’s central role and value to children in Oxford. This includes the ‘Start With A Story’ Project and 2023’s ‘Everything Is Connected’, where the Museum collaborated with contemporary children’s authors to run workshops in secondary schools across Oxford. The ‘Start With A Story’ Project is partnership with Growing Minds and Donnington Doorstep, where the Museum provides children story-based learning activities in underserved areas of Oxfordshire.
This year’s awards will be presented on Thursday 6th November at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, where CEO Conrad Bodman, Emeritus Director Tish Francis, Director Kim Pickin, and former Director Caroline Jones will attend as representatives of the Museum.
The JM Barrie Awards are presented by the charity Action for Children’s Arts, which was founded in 1998 by Vicky Ireland MBE to raise awareness and support for the importance of children’s artistic interests and activities. Aside from running the JM Barrie Awards, the charity also runs campaigns to support childhood access to art across the country, having worked with institutions such as the National Theatre, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, and the Young Vic.
The Story Museum is located at 42 Pembroke Street, and is open from 10am to 5:30pm, seven days a week. Entry to the Museum starts at £7, or £7.70 including a donation to the Museum.
