V&A East Opens in Stratford with Community-Focused Galleries
The Victoria and Albert Museum has opened V&A East in Stratford, East London, a £660 million (~$893 million) project funded by London's City Hall. The museum, part of a decade-long redevelopment, features collection galleries co-designed with the museum's Youth Collective of 16- to 25-year-old East Londoners. Director Gus Casely-Hayford surveyed 30,000 young people to inform object selection. Displays include 500 objects emphasizing identity, social justice, and environmental action, arranged around themes like 'Our Place in the World' and 'Crafting Stories'. Highlights include a Kehinde Wiley portrait paired with a circa 1530–1620 miniature, and works by East London artists Thomas J Price, Molly Goddard, and Tom Hunter. A new stained-glass commission by Tania Bruguera, 'Towards A Civic Museum', is on view. The temporary exhibition 'The Music is Black: A British Story' occupies the upper floor. A 15-minute walk away, the V&A East Storehouse presents over half a million objects on open stacks. The museum includes family-friendly amenities and children's activities. The V&A East is part of a broader expansion that includes the V&A Dundee (2018), V&A Wedgwood Collection in Stoke-on-Trent, and Young V&A (2023).
Key facts
- V&A East opened in Stratford, East London, as part of a £660 million redevelopment.
- The museum was co-designed with a Youth Collective of 16- to 25-year-old East Londoners.
- Director Gus Casely-Hayford surveyed 30,000 young people to guide object selection.
- Collection galleries feature 500 objects on themes of identity, social justice, and environmental action.
- Exhibits include works by Kehinde Wiley, Thomas J Price, Molly Goddard, and Tom Hunter.
- Tania Bruguera created a stained-glass commission titled 'Towards A Civic Museum'.
- The temporary exhibition 'The Music is Black: A British Story' is on view.
- The V&A East Storehouse, a 15-minute walk away, displays over half a million objects on open stacks.
Entities
Artists
- Tania Bruguera
- Kehinde Wiley
- Thomas J Price
- Molly Goddard
- Tom Hunter
- Carrie Mae Weems
- Rene Matić
- Alison Smithson
- Peter Smithson
- Dorothea Lange
- Gus Casely-Hayford
- Thomas J. Price
- Leigh Bowery
- Mr Pearl
- Winifred Atwell
- Janet Kay
- Stormzy
- Little Simz
- Sonia Boyce
- Tam Joseph
- Vicky Lindo
- Bill Brookes
- Frank Bowling
- Sokari Douglas Camp
- Yinka Ilori
- Vivienne Westwood
- Rei Kawakubo
- Sofonisba Anguissola
- Claude Cahun
- Maud Sulter
- Shirley Bassey
- Jme
- Lil Simz
- Ben Enwonwu
- Denzil Forrester
- Larry Achiampong
- Ellen Peirson
- Johannes Vermeer
- Yasmeen Lari
- Assemble
- John Tuomey
- Jayden Ali
- Nick Veasey
- Tadao Ando
- Rem Koolhaas
- Ellie Stathaki
- Cristóbal Balenciaga
Institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- V&A East
- V&A East Storehouse
- V&A Dundee
- V&A Wedgwood Collection
- Young V&A
- London's City Hall
- Hyperallergic
- The Guardian
- V&A East Museum
- BBC
- Sadler’s Wells East
- London College of Fashion
- V&A East Youth Collective
- The Art Newspaper
- UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Greater London Authority
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- V&A
- O'Donnell + Tuomey
- Allies and Morrison
- UCL
- Sadler's Wells East
- BBC Music Studios
- Stanton Williams
- UCL East Marshgate
- JA Projects
- A Practice for Everyday Life
- British Museum
- Diller Scofidio + Renfro
- JA_Projects
- BBC Music
- East Bank
- Kengo Kuma & Associates
- BDP
- MICA
- National Gallery
- Orms
- BT Tower
- Battersea Power Station
- Studio Egret West
- Sadler’s Wells Theatre
- Wallpaper*
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Bartlett
- Thames & Hudson
- designboom
Locations
- London
- East London
- Stratford
- South Kensington
- United Kingdom
- Dundee
- Scotland
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
- Hackney
- Newham
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Pall Mall
- Minneapolis
- Cuba
- Caribbean
- Glastonbury Festival
- Olympic Park
- Waterfront Square
- East Bank
- Dublin
- Ireland
- Thessaloniki
- Greece
- Cork