The V&A has revealed further details of its major new space in East London.
Called V&A East Storehouse, the site is within Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, in the new area called East Bank. This new research and collections centre will store the V&A’s collections, plus there will be some small displays.
Over 250,000 objects, 1,000 archives and 350,000 books will be moved into the new centre, which will open in Spring 2025.
V&A East Storehouse will also house the V&A’s Theatre & Performance Archives and Collections, which will move from their current home in Blythe House Kensington.
The Theatre & Performance Galleries, however, will remain in their current location, in the V&A’s main building in South Kensington .
V&A East Storehouse, which is designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, promises to take visitors on a journey across time, through self-guided tours and changing displays.
East Storehouse will also house the new David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts, following the V&A’s acquisition of the David Bowie archive of over 80,000 items spanning six decades of the cultural icon’s career. The acquisition was made possible by a £10m donation from the billionaire owner of the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Leonard Blavatnik, and his Blavatnik Family Foundation.
The overall V&A East project will comprise of V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum, designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey, with both opening in Spring 2025. Together they represent the largest UK museum development scheme for many years.
The V&A has been recently running the free exhibition Re:Imagining Musicals, celebrating the world of musical theatre.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to run until November, but essential works to the Theatre & Performance Galleries has meant that it closed on 22 May 2023, and will reopen in August 2023. As a result, Re:Imagining Musicals has been extended until February 2024.
