Delivering a flagship cultural celebration aboard our iconic ship
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The beginning
Our Journey with the Art Fund’s Museum of the Year Awards began long before hosting this event together! In 2024, Mileva Corenthin, RMG’s Senior Sales & Business Development Manager, welcomed Nadia, Art Fund’s Senior Events Producer for an initial site visit to explore hosting the 2025 edition of the ceremony within our portfolio. While dates and logistics didn’t align that year, the visit sparked a strong connection and a shared sense of possibilities. We were delighted to reconnect in 2025 for another visit and chat, this time hosting a wider group from Art Fund’s team. This time, the alignment was immediate, their vision for the awards and our passion for showcasing Cutty Sark as a cultural event space came together naturally.
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Choosing the Suppliers
Once Mileva and Nadia aligned on the high‑level vision for the event, the time came to move into supplier selection and to introduce Nadia to Samantha Anderson, RMG’s Senior Event Operations Manager, their event’s dedicated lead. From our trusted accredited partner list, Lettice Events and SLX were appointed to bring Art Fund’s concept to life, pairing inventive, design‑led catering with a confident, heritage‑sensitive production approach tailored to Cutty Sark.
Nadia, Art Fund said:
‘’ We’ve worked with Lettice Events several times now, so it was wonderful to have a caterer we know and trust looking after our event in such a beautiful and bespoke venue. The food and drinks were delicious and perfectly suited to the summer feel and theme of the event. Despite an unexpected heatwave, the team did a fantastic job of keeping everything cool and fresh throughout, with ice flowing all evening. The dessert station was a particularly lovely touch – beautifully designed to complement the wooden accents in the venue, adding a great visual moment to the event, as well as being a huge hit with guests.
SLX Production were fantastic to work with on the production of our Museum of the Year award ceremony, from start to finish. Their in-depth expertise of the venue was a key reason we chose to work with them; it was brilliant to have a team who knew the space inside out and could offer specialist advice on everything from sound, lighting and staging. We particularly enjoyed the extra touches they proposed around branding, from vinyl on the staircase and floor to personalised gobos and bespoke colour matching of our brand colours on the stage. The attention to detail really helped bring the event together against the beautiful backdrop of the Cutty Sark. ’’
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The Venue
Cutty Sark is a venue that carries its own sense of occasion. As one of Britain’s most iconic heritage landmarks, it offers a dramatic architectural backdrop and a unique experience for guests arriving to celebrate the best of the museum sector. For the awards, the Dry Berth, our main event space beneath the ship’s gleaming copper hull, became the focal point of the evening. Through SLX's clever and creative lighting and staging along with our team's and Lettice Events' styling, the space was transformed into a contemporary ceremony environment that balanced intimacy with impact. Later in the evening, the ship’s historic upper decks opened for viewing, giving guests the chance to explore the vessel and enjoy panoramic views over Greenwich. Seeing the ship animated, full of energy, conversation and celebration, was a true highlight for our team.
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The Event
From the moment guests began arriving, our priority was to create a warm, intuitive welcome. Art Fund’s team managed digital check‑in at the main entrance, supported by our Visitor Services Museum Team who guided guests through the space. Lettice Events operated a cloakroom on the ship’s entrance floor, keeping the arrival experience smooth flowing and efficient. Once checked in, guests were directed straight into the Dry Berth, the heart of the celebration, where the atmosphere was already building.
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The awards ceremony itself unfolded beneath Cutty Sark’s iconic hull. With SLX’s striking pink and blue lighting tones, staging and production working in harmony, the space felt both intimate and impactful, a fitting stage for announcing the Museum of the Year winner. The guestlist brought together all the crème de la crème of the museum and cultural sector, all gathered to celebrate this year’s finalists which were The Box Plymouth, The Fitzwilliam Museum, The National Gallery, The V&A East Storehouse and Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery. The Art Fund’s award stands as a defining moment of recognition within our industry but also offers a rewarding £120,000 prize to its winner and £20,000 prize to each finalist. This year’s lucky winner was The Box Plymouth, highly commended for its ambitious and welcoming approach.
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As the awards ceremony concluded, the Dry Berth shifted effortlessly into a lively reception. Hospitality service began with delicious canapes, offering both warm and cold options, soon followed by a creative assortment of mouthwatering bowls paired with vibrant signature cocktails carefully created by Lettice Events, the highlight of the evening was definitely the vibrant zingy herbal gin based Italian Greyhound cocktail. It was wonderful to see guests free flowing smoothly between conversation, food and beverages. It was relaxed yet celebratory and full of momentum.
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Once the award concluded, we opened the ship’s upper decks for exclusive viewing, announced by non-other than our director Paddy Rogers. Guests loved exploring the vessel, taking in the evening light over Greenwich and experiencing the ship’s historic character in a new way. As the night drew on, we gently closed the upper decks and guided guests back into the Dry Berth for the final part of the celebration. As guests returned from their exclusive viewing of Cutty Sark, Lettice Event’s surprised the attendees with a dazzling display of puddings as they unveiled their indulgent dessert station. The music wound down, the bar service concluded, and the event eased naturally towards its close with guests, finalists and winners heading home full of pride, contentment and with lasting memories.
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The Menu, By Lettice Events
Lettice Events delivered a beautifully curated food journey that felt perfectly at home beneath Cutty Sark’s dramatic hull, opening the evening with refined savoury bites before moving into a lively mix of contemporary canapés; from vibrant plant‑based creations and delicate pea croustades to indulgent arancini and flavour‑packed tacos. Guests were then served an elegant progression of bowl food that balanced freshness with comfort: blistered tomatoes with whipped feta, roasted squash with superstraccia, classic cacio e pepe, and a rich king oyster mushroom bourguignon that brought depth and theatre to the service. The night closed with a striking dessert station featuring tarts, truffles, éclairs, a trio of bespoke Art Fund branded macarons and fresh fruit, showcasing Lettice’s signature blend of craft, creativity and visual storytelling; and demonstrating just how dynamic and expressive catering can be within the unique architecture of the Dry Berth.
Erin, Lettice Events said:
“This is our third event with Art Fund, having hosted their winter Trustee's Dinner two years in a row. It was wonderful to have a summer collaboration this time to showcase our seasonal June menus all the while celebrating some of the best Museums around the country. We leant into some of the more playful elements that come with a standing reception, a particular highlight was having a dessert station this year with some branded macarons on Museum of the Year branded paper. Pairing this with some delicious summer cocktails, namely a Peach Margarita & Italian Greyhound; is sure to end the night on a high!”
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The production, by SLX
SLX approached the Museum of the Year ceremony with finesse and with a production design that worked in harmony with the Dry Berth’s dramatic architecture, enhancing the ship’s character rather than competing with it. Their team shaped the environment through thoughtful lighting, staging and AV choices, all calibrated to the scale of the suspended hull and the unique sightlines created by Cutty Sark’s structure. With the ceremony being streamed live, SLX’s tunable white TV soft lights ensured a natural balance for camera while blending seamlessly with the venue’s natural daylight. Bespoke printed backdrops and a wide step‑and‑repeat wall brought the event’s visual identity into the space without overwhelming it. Throughout planning and delivery, SLX worked closely with the RMG Events Team and Art Fund. Their familiarity with the Dry Berth meant they could anticipate challenges and guide technical decisions with confidence. They responded quickly to last‑minute needs, including adapting the production to unusually high temperatures on the day. The result was a polished, assured delivery that demonstrated how powerfully the Dry Berth can support high‑profile cultural events.
Emily, SLX said:
“It was great working with the RMG Events Team and Art Fund. We really enjoyed collaborating on ideas and finding solutions that worked well within the Cutty Sark and the time available. There was a real sense of trust between the teams, and everyone worked together to make the event a memorable one.”
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Nadia, The Art Fund said:
“The events team was wonderful to work with from start to finish and so accommodating to our event. If we ever had any queries our point of contact was hugely communicative and did everything they could to steer us in the right direction. The suppliers were also great and hugely knowledgeable of the venue, which was brilliant given our company hadn't hosted an event at Cutty Sark before. Huge thank you for having us!”
Reading testimonials like the above from Nadia really is the best reward for us and motivation to continue providing the best quality of service for our client. Nadia’s kind words really do highlight the strength of our supplier partnerships, our team’s commitment to client satisfaction, and the confidence we aim to instil in clients hosting events at our heritage sites for the first time which contributes to the conservations of our precious buildings and the stories they tell.
📸 All images © Hydar Dewachi
About us
Royal Museums Greenwich is a versatile collection of historic, luxury venues in London, inclusive of Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House, Royal Observatory Greenwich and the Peter Harrison Planetarium. Royal Museums Greenwich's venue portfolio offers distinctive and unique event spaces for experiential product launches and brand activations; corporate receptions and gala dinners; weddings and private celebrations; and meetings and conferences.
Whether you're looking for an intimate, exclusive experience or a sumptuous large-scale awards event that will blow your guests away, Royal Museums Greenwich has a venue for you. Only 15 minutes from Canary Wharf, Excel London, and London Bridge, RMG offers indoor and outdoor event spaces for 10 to 1000 guests, engaging museum exhibits, a dedicated and experienced team of event professionals and a guaranteed WOW factor.
Reach out to our team today and let's create magic or call 0208 312 8517.