V&A East Storehouse Reimagines Museum Access Through Youth Engagement

The V&A East Storehouse, located in a repurposed Olympic press building in East London, has opened as an innovative museum facility focused on accessibility and community engagement. The institution houses approximately 500,000 objects from the V&A collection and emphasizes direct public interaction through programs like 'Order an Object,' which allows visitors to request items for viewing and handling. A central component is the Youth Collective, a paid consultancy group of young people who help shape gallery design, curatorial themes, and programming. The initiative aims to address contemporary issues like climate change and social cohesion while creating career pathways in creative fields. Additional programs include micro-residencies, fellowships, and community co-production projects, such as collaborations with former residents of Robin Hood Gardens. The Storehouse opened in May 2025 and represents a shift toward treating access as a core principle rather than a supplementary program.