V&A academic head resigns citing systemic racism in whistleblowing letter
Yuko Kikuchi, who was in charge of academic programs at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, resigned at the end of January 2026. In a letter to director Tristram Hunt and the museum’s trustees dated January 26, she described experiencing racist and culturally insensitive conduct from staff, presenting it as whistleblowing. Since moving to the UK in 1989, Kikuchi felt unwelcome, particularly since October 2023, citing exclusion and microaggressions. After launching a Postcolonial Identity course in 2024, she refused to reschedule it when asked. Twelve academics, including Sonia Boyce and Sarah Teasley, supported her. Students reported feeling unsafe due to a lecturer’s focus on white viewpoints. Kikuchi's concerns led to an HR investigation, and Hunt later apologized for some of the process.
Key facts
- Yuko Kikuchi resigned as head of V&A academic programmes at end of January 2026.
- Her 26 January letter to Tristram Hunt and trustees alleged racist and culturally insensitive behaviours.
- Kikuchi started at V&A South Kensington in October 2023.
- She introduced a decolonial course in 2024 that was proposed for relocation to RCA-led term.
- The letter was supported by 12 academics including Sonia Boyce and Sarah Teasley.
- Student testimonials described unsafe learning environment and lack of faculty diversity.
- HR conducted an investigation; Hunt apologized for aspects of the process.
- V&A annual report: 65.8% of staff who disclosed ethnicity are white.
- Hunt called the 1983 National Heritage Act 'outdated and infantilising'.
- Previous incident in July 2025: V&A staff accused of racial profiling Bristol school students.
Entities
Artists
- Yuko Kikuchi
- Sonia Boyce
- Sarah Teasley
- Tristram Hunt
- Hailemichael Aberra Afework
Institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
- Royal College of Art (RCA)
- University of Arts London (UAL)
- RMIT University
- Imperial College London
- Research Centre for Transnational Art Identity and Nation (TrAIN)
- University of London
- V&A Research Institute (VARI)
- Manhyia Palace Museum
- BBC
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Royal College of Art
- The Art Newspaper
- Hyperallergic
- University of Arts London
- ArtAsiaPacific
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Bristol
- Ethiopia
- Ghana
- Jamaica
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Abyssinia
- Maqdala