New East London Venues From V&A

4th July 2021

New East London Venues From V&A

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has outlined its vision for a new museum and storage facility at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London.

The V&A East Storehouse and the V&A East Museum are both part of the Mayor of London’s £1.1bn Olympic legacy project, which involves the creation of a range of arts, innovation and education facilities in the park.

The V&A East Museum was originally due to open in 2023. It was previously delayed until 2024 and is now expected to open in spring 2025. Fortunately, V&A East Storehouse is on track to launch in 2024.

“Construction is well underway on both V&A East sites, with the assembly of the steel frame at V&A East Museum, and the formation of the unique public spaces at V&A East Storehouse,” said Tim Reeve, V&A deputy director and COO.

He added: “Together, they will open up the national collections in ways never possible before, enabling us to reach new audiences in one of the most creative and culturally diverse parts of the UK.”

V&A East Youth Collective Programme

The V&A is keen to emphasise how important the local community, particularly young people and creative businesses, are to the project. It has consulted 20,000 people so far and created a wide-ranging outreach programme.

As part of its planning, the museum has created the V&A East Youth Collective Programme, a rolling six-month paid opportunity for locals aged between 16 and 25 to play a role in developing the project.

This will be led in part by design collective Resolve, founded by brothers Akil and Seth Scafe-Smith. The team has been working with young people across the four neighbouring boroughs – Waltham Forest, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney – via creative workshops. The end result will be a series of installation in locations throughout these areas.

Creative consultancy - A Vibe Called Tech, which explores the intersection of black creativity and innovation, has also partnered with V&A East on a residency sponsored by Google Arts and Culture.

Through these programmes and the museum’s collection, it is believed V&A East will foster a new generation of cultural leaders.