Tullie House is celebrating being named Large Visitor Attraction of the Year in the prestigious Cumbria Tourism Awards 2022.
The award was made at a glittering ceremony last night (Wed, July 6) when the museum was praised for excellence across every aspect of its business.
The Carlisle-based attraction is one of the UK’s leading independent museums and the award tops a highly successful year for the venue.
Cumbria Tourism Awards 2022 at Castle Green Hotel, Kendal. Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery wins the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award. Left to right. Amy Walker, Anna Smalley, Sarah Forster and Emily Burnham receive the award from Jonathan Nagle from sponsor H&H Reeds.
“We are so incredibly over the moon to win this award,” says Anna Smalley, Head of Collections & Engagement at Tullie.
“We do everything we do for our visitors and our community so to get this award from Cumbria Tourism is a wonderful recognition of all the hard work the team puts in.”
Anna adds: “We were really surprised to win because we were up against two other amazing attractions. Even being nominated was a big honour. We are delighted to be representing the north of the county and flying the flag for the City of Carlisle which offers such a rich cultural experience to all its visitors.”
The Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award recognises those venues offering a truly memorable visitor experience and demonstrating excellence across every aspect of the business.
Tullie was praised for carefully considering the needs of visitors with disabilities and the impact of their business on the environment and their links with the local community.
A mural is created by international street artist Angry Dan as part of the groundbreaking Once Upon a Planet exhibition at Tullie.
The museum’s latest exhibition is a case in point – “Once Upon A Planet” is designed to inspire people to change their behaviour to help limit the damaging effects of climate change. The exhibition introduces visitors to the idea of ‘active citizenship’ and suggests actions they can take to live more sustainably.
Tullie’s own commitment to sustainability features in the exhibition, with examples of how the museum is working to reduce its environmental impact – displays are made from materials used in at least one exhibition before and will be used again.
The exhibition also shows how the museum is striving to be more accessible as it’s the first of its exhibitions to use British Sign Language in parts. Thanks to Cumbria Deaf Association, some videos within the exhibition have BSL interpretation.
Tullie House has staged a series of exhibitions highlighting this year’s 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall – bringing together some of the Roman Empire’s most stunning objects while also displaying newly discovered finds from recent archaeological excavations in the city of Carlisle.
Once Upon A Planet runs until Saturday 10 September. For more information on the accompanying activities programme visit www.tulliehouse.co.uk/once-upon-planet-events-and-activities
