British Library Sacred exhibition nominated for The Art Fund Prize
01 February 2008
The British Library's blockbuster exhibition, Sacred: Discover what we share (27 April - 23 September 2007) has been long-listed for the prestigious award, The Art Fund Prize. Sacred attracted record numbers of visitors, making it the most successful British Library exhibition to date.
Sacred: Discover what we share brought together some of the world's most important and beautiful religious texts from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Rare and exquisite examples from the Library's collections - considered to be one of the greatest in the world - were presented alongside treasures on loan from other institutions.
Many of the lavishly illustrated or decorated books and manuscripts had never, or seldom, been on public display while others were shown for the first time in the UK. Sacred also marked the first time that texts from these three faiths will have been displayed and explored together, side-by-side, in a major UK exhibition. The exhibition attracted over 200,000 visitors during its five month run.
Although the Sacred exhibition closed in September, an online gallery and interactive web resources are available at www.bl.uk/sacred
Graham Shaw, Head of Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections at the British Library and Lead Curator of Sacred, commented:
"I am absolutely delighted that Sacred has been long-listed for The Art Fund Prize. Sacred attracted record numbers of visitors, making it the most successful British Library exhibition to date. The exhibition, considered by many to be a timely and important one, was an ambitious undertaking in itself, but together with a varied events programme (attracting over 7000 people), public tours, educational workshops and web resources (drawing over 26,000 visitors), as well as a regional programme, we were able to reach an unprecedented audience. It is immensely gratifying to consider that over 200,000 visitors - both of faith and of no faith - came to think, to debate and learn. I hope that Sacred has contributed to a greater understanding of the three faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, their historical roots, and their significance in the world today."
The Art Fund Prize is the largest single arts prize in the UK, which recognises and rewards the best new development of the previous calendar year in a UK museum or gallery. The winner of the Prize will be announced on 22 May 2008.
For further information, contact Ruth Howlett at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7112 or ruth.howlett@bl.uk
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world's largest and most comprehensive research collection. Further information is available on the Library's website at www.bl.uk
Sacred: Discover what we share (27 April - 23 September 2007) was funded by donors representative of all three faiths, including the Coexist Foundation, The Moroccan British Society and Saint Catherine Foundation.
The British Library's current major exhibition is Breaking the Rules: The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900-1937 (runs until 30 March 2008).
The Ramayana: Love and Valour in India's Great Epic opens at the British Library on 16 May 2008.
The Art Fund is the UK's leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections and campaigns widely on behalf of museums and their visitors. It is entirely funded from public donations and has 80,000 members. Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections. In January 2007 The Art Fund successfully led the public appeal to save JMW Turner's Blue Rigi for Tate, and in July 2007 was instrumental in putting together a unique funding package to ensure Dumfries House in Ayrshire was secured for the nation. Independent of government, The Art Fund is uniquely placed to campaign on behalf of public collections across the UK.