The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) won the 2026 European Art Museum Award (European Art Museum Award), a prestigious European honor awarded by the European Academy of Museums, in recognition of the social role of museums. It honors museums that place art in innovative contexts, with the aim of contributing to addressing contemporary social issues. The award ceremony took place on Saturday, September 26, in Alicante, Spain.

This significant distinction places the EMST at the center of the European museum landscape, recognizing its innovation, its trajectory, its curatorial direction, and the public role it has developed in recent years. The EMST was selected for the shortlist of six European museums vying for this year’s award, alongside institutions of international renown such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam, and the National Gallery of Slovenia in Ljubljana.

The award is based on democratic and human values, such as social justice, participation, inclusion, gender equality, community building, and sustainability. These values serve as a driving force for new ideas and practices in museology, while the award highlights new standards and models of innovation and excellence that redefine the social role of art museums in the 21st century. The award marks a period of substantial renewal and international outreach for the Museum, with a contemporary and innovative program that has a clear social focus, placing particular emphasis on the relationship between contemporary art and politics, society, history, the environment, and the issues that define the present. Over the past five years, the EMST has significantly strengthened its international presence, broadened the dialogue surrounding Greek and international contemporary artistic production, and established its position as a museum playing an active role in the contemporary national and international cultural scene. The EMST, in dialogue with the past but with its gaze fixed on the present and the future, highlights and supports contemporary art, brings critical social issues into the public discourse, and helps lay the groundwork for a more open, inclusive, and better society.

The awarding of the 2026 European Museum Prize is an extremely important moment for our country, our culture, and, of course, for the EMST itself and the international recognition of its new identity, its curatorial direction, and the position it has earned on the European cultural map.

The Chair of the Awards Committee, Dr. Samuel Gallagher, made the following statement upon announcing the award to the EMST:

“Artistic Director Katerina Gregou and her team impressed the jury with the originality and ambition with which their vision is put into practice throughout the entire organization, as evidenced by the impressive number of exhibitions that provoke thought and encourage critical thinking.

As a champion of Greek contemporary art, looking confidently toward the Southeastern Mediterranean and the rest of the world, the EMST serves as a valuable cultural bridge in an increasingly fragmented world.

The quality of its artistic output, the originality of its thinking, and the sincere conviction that every action taken by the museum can have a positive impact have helped the EMST stand out among an extremely competitive field of nominees.

The EMST seeks not only to change the way the public perceives contemporary art, but also the way it perceives its own life and the world in which it lives. Its work is now, and rightly so, considered a model to which other museums can turn.”