The Old Royal Naval College is delighted to be shortlisted as a finalist for the Best Ticketed Event Award for Museum of the Moon at this year’s Cultural Enterprises Awards. 

Cultural Enterprises Awards, organised by The Association for Cultural Enterprises, recognises innovation in commercial enterprise and its vital role in sustaining the cultural sector. The awards celebrate and showcase best practice in cultural income generation.   

The Painted Hall at Old Royal Naval College provided an epic setting for contemporary artist Luke Jerram’s Museum of the Moon. It was a spectacle that brought joy and inspiration to an extraordinary number of people in its eight-week installation 2022-2023. It stands as the most successful project for the Old Royal Naval College in terms of attracting visitors, profile-raising and income generation, since the re-opening of the Painted Hall in March 2019.   

Museum of the Moon gave over 50,000 visitors a chance to discover two visual spectacles at the same time – one of the most spectacular Baroque interiors in Europe that is the Painted Hall and a stunning thought-provoking contemporary artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram. 

The Painted Hall was completed in 1726 by Sir James Thornhill and its exquisite painted ceilings and walls depict science, culture and politics, using astronomy and space as recurring symbols. Museum of the Moon was the perfect opportunity to juxtapose old and new and to share the connections between the two artworks. 

The Best Ticketed Event category recognises new ticketed events that are creative, original and commercially successful, as well as relevant to a venue and its audience. 

Cultural Enterprises CEO Gordon Morrison said, “Promoting commercial best practice within the cultural sector has never been more important given the urgent need for the sector to maximise income streams and identify new sources of money making. The Cultural Enterprises Awards provide a brilliant platform to showcase commercial excellence within the cultural sector and perform an essential role in providing inspiration and ideas on maximising income streams to cultural venues across the country. I am delighted that we have seen a record level of entries this year, and the calibre is particularly high, providing us with an outstanding showcase of commercial best practice to inspire the wider sector.”

The awards are judged by a panel of industry experts, all chosen for their extensive experience in cultural income generation. All shortlisted entries will be showcased at the Cultural Enterprises Conference at ICC Wales on 13-14 March, where the winners will be revealed at the Awards Dinner.