Museums shaking up the world of culture

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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.

That meant no silverware for France’s Louvre. It might be the world’s most visited art museum, but it didn’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.

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 list gives shout-outs to Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar, the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya de Merida in Mexico, 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.

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 this year’s winner being 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 list of winners and nominees are below:

Best exhibitions and programming

Tate Modern, London (UK) – Winner

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) – Winner

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.) – Winner

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) – Winner

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)

Somerset House, London (UK)

Best shop

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK) – Winner

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:

Best emerging culture destination: Europe

Whitworth Gallery, Manchester (UK) – Winner

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)

Best emerging culture destination: Asia

Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita (Japan) – Winner

Asia Modern, Wufeng, Taichung (Taiwan)

Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (China)

Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita (Japan)

Pinacotheque De Paris (Singapore)

Best emerging culture destination: Africa

Museum MMP +, Marrakech (Morocco) – Winner

Museum MMP +, Marrakech (Morocco)

Ouidah Museum of History (Benin)

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

Best emerging culture destination: North America

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

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.)

Best emerging culture destination: Central & South America

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

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)

Best emerging culture destination: Middle East

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, (Qatar) – Winner

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) – Winner

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

Mexico City (Mexico) – Winner

Oslo (Norway)

Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Mexico City (Mexico)

Venice (Italy)

Curious to see who won? Click here.