Museums shaking up the world of culture

By Maureen O'Hare, CNN
4 minute read
Updated 5:48 AM EDT, Fri September 25, 2015
The shortlist for the Leading Culture Destinations of 2015 has been unveiled. Among the nominations, Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry's much admired Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, gets a nod for its spectacular design. A Gehry retrospective opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this month.
Shortlisted: Best Architecture & Spacial Design —
The shortlist for the Leading Culture Destinations of 2015 has been unveiled. Among the nominations, Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry's much admired Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, gets a nod for its spectacular design. A Gehry retrospective opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this month.
RAFA RIVAS/AFP/Getty Images
London's Tate Modern's declared digital strategy for 2015 is for digital to "become a dimension of everything that Tate does." Pictured: Miroslaw Balka's installation "How It Is" is displayed in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in October 2009.
Shortlisted: Best Digital Experience —
London's Tate Modern's declared digital strategy for 2015 is for digital to "become a dimension of everything that Tate does." Pictured: Miroslaw Balka's installation "How It Is" is displayed in the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in October 2009.
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
The Leading Culture Destinations Awards honor the world's most visionary museums. In 2015, the Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" show broke attendance records at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, earning the 163-year-old institution a nomination for Best Exhibitions & Programming.
Shortlisted: Best Exhibitions & Programming —
The Leading Culture Destinations Awards honor the world's most visionary museums. In 2015, the Alexander McQueen "Savage Beauty" show broke attendance records at London's Victoria & Albert Museum, earning the 163-year-old institution a nomination for Best Exhibitions & Programming.
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
There are few better ways to enjoy panoramic views over Paris than from Georges, the rooftop French-fusion restaurant and terrace at the top of the Centre Pompidou. Architects Dominique Jacob and Brendan McFarlane are behind the industrial-chic interior.
Shortlisted: Best Eat & Drink —
There are few better ways to enjoy panoramic views over Paris than from Georges, the rooftop French-fusion restaurant and terrace at the top of the Centre Pompidou. Architects Dominique Jacob and Brendan McFarlane are behind the industrial-chic interior.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images
Some museum shops rival their own museums. The Palais de Tokyo contemporary art center in Paris, which has a bookstore packed with hard-to-find titles, and plenty of home furnishings and pop culture goodies also on sale. Best of all, it's open 'til midnight.
Shortlisted: Best Shop —
Some museum shops rival their own museums. The Palais de Tokyo contemporary art center in Paris, which has a bookstore packed with hard-to-find titles, and plenty of home furnishings and pop culture goodies also on sale. Best of all, it's open 'til midnight.
LOIC VENANCE/AFP/Getty Images
Another Frank Gehry design, the recently opened Fondation Louis Vuitton was commissioned by France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, and sits in the verdant surroundings of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- Europe —
Another Frank Gehry design, the recently opened Fondation Louis Vuitton was commissioned by France's richest man, Bernard Arnault, and sits in the verdant surroundings of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
Gehry Partners
Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, China, features a collection of installations and architecture contributed by some of the world's leading artists, including Pritzker prizewinner Wang Shu, British architect David Adjaye and, most recently, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- Asia —
Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, China, features a collection of installations and architecture contributed by some of the world's leading artists, including Pritzker prizewinner Wang Shu, British architect David Adjaye and, most recently, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Courtesy Steven Holl Architects
Marrakech hasn't traditionally been known for the arts, but all that could be set to change with the opening last year of Museum MMP +, one of the world's biggest photography galleries.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- Africa —
Marrakech hasn't traditionally been known for the arts, but all that could be set to change with the opening last year of Museum MMP +, one of the world's biggest photography galleries.
Courtesy of MMP+
New Jersey is giving its neighbors in New York a run for their money with the Mana Contemporary Art Center in Jersey City, which opened in 2011. Pictured: The kids' play area during the "1.8 Million Square Feet of Art" event in September 2013.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- North America —
New Jersey is giving its neighbors in New York a run for their money with the Mana Contemporary Art Center in Jersey City, which opened in 2011. Pictured: The kids' play area during the "1.8 Million Square Feet of Art" event in September 2013.
TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero and bankrolled by tycoon Carlos Slim, the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City opened in 2011 and is now the most visited museum in the country.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- South America —
Designed by Mexican architect Fernando Romero and bankrolled by tycoon Carlos Slim, the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City opened in 2011 and is now the most visited museum in the country.
RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Architect Ron Arad worked his magic on the Design Museum in Holon, Israel, which opened in 2010. It's hosted exhibitions from international designers including Yohji Yamamoto, pictured, and Alessi, and this November will feature a retrospective of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon. <br />
Shortlist: Best Emerging Culture Destination -- Middle East —
Architect Ron Arad worked his magic on the Design Museum in Holon, Israel, which opened in 2010. It's hosted exhibitions from international designers including Yohji Yamamoto, pictured, and Alessi, and this November will feature a retrospective of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon.
JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images
The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Canada, has 37 unique artist-designed room, including the Blue Line room, pictured. The shade is chroma-key blue, the color used for blue screens, allowing guests to video themselves against the walls and digitally insert their own backdrops later.
Shortlisted: Best Art Experience in a Hotel —
The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, Canada, has 37 unique artist-designed room, including the Blue Line room, pictured. The shade is chroma-key blue, the color used for blue screens, allowing guests to video themselves against the walls and digitally insert their own backdrops later.
gladstone hotel
Oslo's Green House, a residential building at Dælenenggata 36 designed by Element Architects AS, was awarded Norway's Arkitekturprisen architecture prize in September 2015. Other cities to be shortlisted include Palma de Mallorca in Spain and Venice, Italy.
Shortlisted: Best Emerging City for Culture —
Oslo's Green House, a residential building at Dælenenggata 36 designed by Element Architects AS, was awarded Norway's Arkitekturprisen architecture prize in September 2015. Other cities to be shortlisted include Palma de Mallorca in Spain and Venice, Italy.
Ståle Feldberg
Leading Culture Destinations: The shortlist 2015

Story highlights

The prestigious Leading Culture Destinations awards are in their second year

They honor the world's most visionary art institutions and new culture hotspots

China's Sifang Art Museum and Oman National Museum have made this year's list

CNN  — 

The shortlist for Leading Culture Destinations 2015 has been announced, and there are some surprising new entries.

The prestigious awards honor the world’s most visionary art institutions and emerging cultural hotspots.

While plenty of the usual suspects make the list – MoMA in New York, London’s Tate Modern – there are new arrivals like the jaw-dropping Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing, China, and architecture supremo Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

Who got left out?

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, got a nod for Best Architecture & Spatial Design.
The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, got a nod for Best Architecture & Spatial Design.
The Trustees of the British Museum

There are some notable exceptions, too. France’s Louvre might be the world’s most-visited art museum, but it doesn’t even get a look-in.

Global heavyweights including Florence’s Galleria degli Uffizi and Madrid’s Reina Sofia are similarly out in the cold.

The selections reflect the shift away from the art world’s big boys in New York, Paris and London.

After all, 2013’s most attended art exhibitions were in Taipei and Rio de Janeiro, not Europe or North America.

The 2015 shortlist gives shout-outs to the Oman National Museum, the Ouidah Museum of History in Benin and other unexpected destinations that are beginning to present serious competition on the global stage.

Eating, drinking and shopping

Getting oohs and aahs for its architecture: The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
Getting oohs and aahs for its architecture: The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.
KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images

In addition, the cultural institutions leading the way this year aren’t just about art appreciation. They’re also places to eat, drink, work, shop, socialize and even sleep.

As Andy Warhol said, “All department stores will become museums, and all museums will become department stores.”

So alongside exhibitions and programming, museums are also judged on architecture and spatial design, digital experience, shopping, and eating and drinking.

There’s even a category for best art experience in a Hotel, with nominees including France’s La Colombe d’Or, a favorite of stars including Francis Ford Coppola and Drew Barrymore.

The 2015 winners will be announced at the award ceremony in London on October 9.

The full shortlist of the nominees announced is below:

Best exhibitions and programming

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

New Museum, New York (U.S.)

Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

Best architecture and spatial design

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)

Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao (Spain)

State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Russia)

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (Qatar)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (U.S.)

Best digital experience

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

Getty Center, Los Angeles (U.S.)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (U.S.)

Best eat and drink

Centre Pompidou, Paris (France)

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)

Somerset House, London (UK)

Best shop

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (U.S.)

Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris (France)

The shortlist for the Best Emerging Culture Destination of the Year includes:

Europe

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

The Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)

Barcelona Design Museum, Barcelona (Spain)

Whitworth Gallery, Manchester (UK)

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (Russia)

Fondazione Prada, Milan (Italy)

Asia

Museum SAN, Wonj (South Korea)

Asia Modern, Wufeng, Taichung (Taiwan)

Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (China)

Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita (Japan)

Pinacotheque De Paris (Singapore)

Africa

Museum Mohammed VI, Rabat (Morocco)

Museum MMP +, Marrakech (Morocco)

Ouidah Museum of History (Benin)

Thread by Foundation Annie & Josef Albers, Sinthian (Senegal)

North America

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg (Canada)

Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York (U.S.)

The Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (U.S.)

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (U.S.)

Mana Contemporary, New Jersey (U.S.)

South America

The Biomuseo, Panama City (Panama)

Museum of Memory and Tolerance, Mexico City (Mexico)

Museo Soumaya, Mexico City (Mexico)

La ene – Nuevo museo energia de arte contemporaneo, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janerio (Brazil)

Gran Museo del Mundo Maya de Merida, Merida (Mexico)

Middle East

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, (Qatar)

Oman National Museum, Muscat (Oman)

Design Museum, Holon (Israel)

Dubai Moving Image Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Salsali Private Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

The Traveler’s Award shortlist:

Best art experience in a hotel

La Colombe d’Or, Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France)

Gramercy Park Hotel, New York (U.S.)

Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resort, Rome (Italy)

Gladstone Hotel, Toronto (Canada)

Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai (China)

Palace Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

Best emerging city for culture

Manchester (UK)

Oslo (Norway)

Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Mexico City (Mexico)

Venice (Italy)

Curious to see who won? Click here.