The first thing all visitors see at the V&A East museum is a young person, smartphone in hand, staring into the horizon.
The 18-ft bronze sculpture by Thomas J Price is “the personification of everything we aim to deliver with the museum,” says Gus Casely Hayford, director of V&A East.
The fashion section holds the bright pink Daria dress by Molly Goddard (2019), made from 200 feet of nylon tulle and worn by Beyoncé in the visual album Black is King (2020). A 17th-century floral silk gown by East London designer Anna Maria Garthwaite, likely last owned by a maid in 1780. And a 1990 Cut, Slash & Pull denim ensemble by Vivienne Westwood. Meanwhile, an inaugural exhibition titled Music is Black: A British Story uses 200 objects — from apparel and sheet music to musical instruments and rare cinematic footage, from 1900 to the present day — to tell the story of how Caribbean immigration birthed homegrown music genres such as Brit funk, jungle, drum & bass, trip hop, UK garage and grime. On display here is a piano that belonged to Winifred Atwell, the first Black artist to score a UK #1 hit, in 1953; influential grime MC Jme’s Super Nintendo and Mario Paint games, which he used in early experiments with music-making in the 1990s; and Stormzy’s iconic stab-proof Union Jack vest, designed by Banksy and worn when the artist headlined Glastonbury in 2019.
On display at the moment, for instance, is Heads! Look to the Workers, a series of moving sculptures by artist Laura Wilson that honours the workers of East London’s theatres, factories and other labour-driven establishments. Also on display is Dispersal, which sees photographers Marion Davies and Debra Rapp document small-scale units in the region, such as belt-making, salmon smoking and stained-glass workshops.
“A museum of the future doesn’t just reflect the world, but is a platform for change,” says Casely Hayford. “In today’s society, where we face challenges from the climate crisis to increasing polarisation, museums and the creative industries have a vital role in driving culture forward by celebrating communities and spotlighting the many ways that global artists, designers and makers are using their creativity to change the world for the better.”
