All Eyes on Her!: Community Stewardship for Institutional Change won Community Engagement Programme of the Year – the most popular category for applications this year – at a ceremony on May 13, 2026, at Hilton Park Lane, London
The judges commented that: ‘Our winner goes far beyond consultation to deliver genuine institutional change. It has placed Egyptian and diaspora communities at the heart of how their heritage is interpreted and is a transferable model of shared stewardship for the sector.’
All Eyes on Her! – led by the Horniman Museum and Gardens with UCL and multiple community partners – engaged with more than 250 Egyptian and diaspora people. It set out to challenge the disconnection between Egyptian collections in UK museums, among the most extensive and recognisable, and contemporary Egyptian communities. It also aimed to remove barriers to community agency and to reposition Egyptian women as rights-holders in the care and interpretation of Egyptian heritage.
It adopted Egyptian-rooted lammet ʿeila (family gatherings) and ʿaʾdet setat (women’s circles), with partners also communicating via WhatsApp groups, voice notes, stickers and social media – reflecting how Egyptian women already organise activism and mutual support.
In the resulting exhibition of the same name, interpretation was written by Egyptian women and developed through community-led creative writing workshops, and for the first time at the Horniman, Egyptian Arabic and English text appear side by side.
Anna Preedy, Director of Museums + Heritage Awards commented: ‘This year we received a record number of entries to the Awards, which has been fantastic to see. I was particularly struck by how significant the Community Engagement category has become. Museums and cultural organisations increasingly act as welcoming spaces at the heart of their locality, and it has been inspiring to see how many projects have been developed in genuine collaboration with those communities. Importantly, they have placed community voices front and centre and have opened up dialogue and space for stories to be shared in ways that are imaginative, inclusive and far less prescriptive.’
All Eyes on Her! beat off stiff competition from the other shortlisted entries in the Community Engagement category:
Highly Commended:
- Gunnersbury Park Museum Peoples Unite! How Southall changed the country
- The Bowes Museum Unheard Voices, bringing The Bowes Museum to HMP Deerbolt
Shortlisted:
- The Roman Baths Sanctuary at The Roman Baths
- Touchstones Rochdale Side-by-Side
- Maison Dieu (Dover Town Hall) Reawakening the Maison Dieu Community Engagement