The landmark cultural institution, based in South Kensington, has moved garments from some of the world’s most influential designers to its new Olympic Park storehouse which opens in 2025
The move, which is the V&A’s largest since World War II, has seen over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives audited, condition checked, carefully packed, documented, electronically tracked, and safely transported to their new home in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, which opens in 2025.
The landmark cultural institution, based in South Kensington, has moved garments from some of the world’s most influential designers including Issey Miyake to Elsa Schiaparelli, as well as key portions of the Glastonbury Festival Archive.
Furniture from Charles and Ray Eames, and Kaare Klint also feature among three life-sized fibre-glass panda sculptures, and a stunning array of 19th century paintings documenting the oldest surviving examples of painting in India located in the cave complex at Ajanta.
Écarlate cocktail dress, Christian Dior,1955, Paris, moves into V&A East Storehouse, Credit: David Parry for V&A
Over five years in the making, the move of V&A collections from Blythe House to V&A East Storehouse, a 16,000 square metre purpose-built home and first of its kind in the UK to provide open public access to collections through self-guided tours and changing displays, is now complete.
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The move has seen over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives audited, condition checked, carefully packed, documented, electronically tracked, and safely transported to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the V&A, says: “The completion of this monumental move, which has been years in the planning, marshalling expertise from across the V&A, represents a huge milestone in our mission to radically transform access and remove barriers between the public and their national collections.
Longcase clocks moved into storage in V&A East Storehouse, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Credit: David Parry for V&A
“V&A East Storehouse offers a unique opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the magical behind-the-scenes world of a working museum store, through a self-guided public network intertwined with the world’s greatest collection of art design and performance.
“We are particularly excited to be bringing the collections and archives to communities across the four Olympic boroughs, in a part of London with a rich creative heritage and great contemporary creative potential, for a new audience to discover a radically different type of museum experience when Storehouse opens in 2025.”
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