The five‑storey museum, part of the East Bank development in the Olympic Park, launches with the largest exhibition to date on the influence of Black British music
A major new cultural venue opens this weekend in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, as the V&A East Museum welcomes visitors for the first time on Saturday (18th April).
The five‑storey museum, part of the East Bank development, launches with The Music is Black: A British Story – billed as the largest exhibition to date on the influence of Black British music.
It traces 125 years of musical history, from early pioneers to contemporary artists, and includes more than 200 objects such as Stormzy’s Banksy‑designed Glastonbury vest, Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar and equipment used by Fabio & Grooverider.
The exhibition also features newly acquired photography documenting artists from Bob Marley to Skepta, alongside new commissions by Frank Bowling and other contemporary artists.
Alongside the headline show, the museum opens two free permanent galleries, Why We Make, displaying over 500 objects from the V&A collection. Items range from Renaissance portraits and scent cases to work by designers including Yinka Ilori, Molly Goddard, Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. The galleries were developed with east London residents and the V&A East Youth Collective.
The museum also launches New Work, a twice‑yearly programme of contemporary commissions, with new pieces by Tania Bruguera, Rene Matić, Carrie Mae Weems and others responding to the theme “Making East London”.
A temporary display, Dispersal, documents east London workers and businesses displaced during preparations for the 2012 Olympics.
Opening events include workshops, performances and a takeover by DJ Nia Archives. The museum café is run in partnership with Jikoni.
V&A East Director Gus Casely‑Hayford said the museum had been “over ten years in the making” and was created “with and for” east Londoners.
The V&A East Museum is expected to form a key part of the East Bank cultural district, which City Hall says will attract more than 1.5 million visitors a year.
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