Alistair Hardaker | Image: V&A East Museum © Hufton+Crow
V&A East Museum opens 18 April in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, completing the East Bank partnership funded by the Mayor of London.
V&A East Museum opens on Saturday 18 April in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The five-storey building designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey is the sister site to V&A East Storehouse, which opened in May 2025. East Bank also comprises BBC Music Studios, London College of Fashion UAL, Sadler’s Wells East and UCL East. London College of Fashion and UCL opened in autumn 2023, Sadler’s Wells East opened in February 2025, and BBC Music Studios is scheduled to open in late 2026 or early 2027.
The museum’s first ticketed exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, examines Black British music over 125 years. It features over 200 objects including Stormzy’s 2019 Glastonbury vest designed by Banksy, Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar, equipment belonging to Fabio and Grooverider, fashion worn by Little Simz, Seal, Dame Shirley Bassey, Sade and Skin, and a Super Nintendo used by Jme for early music experiments.
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The V&A acquired over 50 photographs from the 1960s to 2010s for the exhibition, including works by Dennis Morris, Eddie Otchere, Soulla Petrou and Laura ‘Hyperfrank’ Brosnan. The exhibition includes a specially commissioned painting by Sir Frank Bowling and works by Dame Sonia Boyce, Zak Ové, Sokari Douglas Camp CBE and Denzil Forrester.
The BBC has partnered on the exhibition, providing archival materials and releasing content across its channels at bbc.co.uk/themusicisblack. A Music is Black Festival will take place across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in summer 2026.
Two free permanent Why We Make galleries, designed by JA_Projects in collaboration with A Practice for Everyday Life, Larry Achiampong and the V&A East Youth Collective, display over 500 objects from the V&A’s collection. These include photographic works by Claude Cahun, Maud Sulter and Shadi Ghadirian, furniture by Yinka Ilori, fashion by Alexander McQueen, Molly Goddard, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo, carnival costumes by Keith Khan, ceramics by Bisila Noha, ballet costumes by Leigh Bowery, and fabric prints by Althea McNish.
V&A East Museum opens with New Work, a twice-yearly rotating programme of creative commissions. The inaugural edition includes newly commissioned works by Tania Bruguera, Rene Matić, Justinien Tribillon, Carrie Mae Weems and Laura Wilson. Further commissions by Es Devlin, Lawrence Lek and Shahed Saleem are displayed at V&A East Storehouse.
A temporary display, Dispersal, shows photographs by Marion Davies and Debra Rapp documenting east London labour businesses at threat of closure or relocation due to the development of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
East Bank is expected to welcome over 1.5 million visitors a year and generate £1.5bn for London’s economy. V&A East Museum is free to all and opens 10am-6pm seven days a week, with late night openings to 10pm on Thursdays and Saturdays.
