The V&A East Museum Is Finally Here (& Everything Else To See Right Now)

One of London’s prettiest and most prestigious museums, the Victoria & Albert Museum, fondly known as the V&A, always has an impressive roster of exhibitions. Here’s what to book and look forward to at the V&A in 2026, from the main South Kensington museum to the more recently revived Young V&A which encourages visitors of all ages to play, imagine and design. There’s also the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford giving visitors an insight into the museum’s sprawling collection, plus the V&A East Museum which officially (finally) opens this Saturday, 18 April 2026.

What’s On At The V&A In 2026?

• Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art: 28 March–1 November 2026, V&A South Kensington
• Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends: 12 February–15 November 2026, Young V&A
• The Music Is Black: A British Story: From 18 April 2026, V&A Museum East
• Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific: From 16 May 2026, V&A South Kensington

Schiaparelli Haute Couture Fall Winter 2024 (Photo © Giovanni Giannoni. Photo courtesy of Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris)

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art

Following the huge success of Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto and NAOMI, the V&A South Kensington’s next fashion exhibition is set to be a goodie. Drawing on its foremost collection of the Italian designer’s garments, Elsa Schiaparelli is the museum’s next subject, with a dedicated exhibition delving into her uniquely fearless imagination and radical vision that blurred the boundaries between fashion and art. Here’s everything you need to know before you go.

Details: Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art runs from 28 March to 1 November 2026 at the V&A South Kensington (Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL). Tickets start from £28pp.

BOOK IT

(© David Parry/V&A)

Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends

The Young V&A’s third exhibition has a playfully British slant. Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends unpacks the unique British production company’s creative process, coinciding with the studio’s 50th anniversary year. From Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run to Shaun the Sheep and Morph, Aardman are behind some of the UK’s most iconic animated characters, and this family-oriented exhibition will showcase everything from idea development and storyboarding to model making and filming.

Details: Inside Aardman: Wallace & Gromit and Friends runs 12 February to 15 November 2026 at the Young V&A (Cambridge Heath Rd, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA). Tickets are £11pp.

BOOK IT

‘Hi Tension’, 1979 (© Adrian Boot, urbanimage.tv)

The Music Is Black: A British Story

The first exhibition at the all-new V&A East Museum in Stratford will be an ode to Black British musicians. Celebrating 125 years of Black music in our country, The Music is Black will span Jazz, Reggae, 2 Tone, Drum & Bass, Trip Hop, Garage, Grime and more, telling the long-overdue story of Black excellence, struggle, resilience, and joy. Read all about what to expect here.

Details: The Music Is Black: A British Story will open on 18 April 2026 at the V&A East Museum (107 Carpenters Rd, London E20 2AR). Tickets on sale soon.

BOOK IT

China China – Bust no.3 by AH XIAN, 1998.

Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific

In a landmark collaboration between the V&A and Australia’s Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, an unparalleled view of Asia Pacific’s dynamic creative landscape will land in South Kensington in spring 2026. Featuring rare works by 40 creatives (some never seen before outside Asia-Pacific) and drawing on 30 years of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) exhibition series, First Nations perspectives will be foregrounded across art and objects, including weaving, ceramics, jewellery and miniature painting.

Details: Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific will open on 16 May 2026 at the V&A South Kensington (Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL). Tickets on sale soon.

BOOK IT

The V&A (Getty Images)

The V&A Explained

Founded in 1852 by, you guessed it, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Victoria & Albert Museum (best known as the V&A) is known for its eclectic collection of art, including ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs. The V&A collection holds more than 4.5 million objects and, boasting 145 galleries on a 12.5 acre footprint, the South Kensington site is the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design.

the V&A also has a site in Dundee, a children’s museum in Bethnal Green, and the sister sites in Stratford, V&A East Museum and V&A East Storehouse.

But it doesn’t end there: as of 2026, the V&A collection is spread across six museums, including the V&A Dundee, the V&A Wedgwood Collection in Stoke-on-Trent and four London outposts. They are:

• V&A South Kensington (Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL)
• V&A East Museum, Stratford (107 Carpenters Rd, Stratford Cross, London E20 2AR)
• V&A East Storehouse, Stratford (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Parkes St, London E20 3AX)
• Young V&A, Bethnal Green (Cambridge Heath Rd, London E2 9PA)

Inside the V&A East Museum. (© David Parry/ V&A)

The V&A East Museum is a long awaited second London outpost for the original South Kensington V&A Museum, set to open on Saturday 18 April 2026. Created with young people, creatives and local East Londoners, the focus here will be on the people and ideas shaping global culture right now, an evolving story told through galleries, exhibitions, creative commissions and events. Fittingly, the first exhibition will be The Music is Black, also opening on 18 April.

View of the Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse. (© David Parry/PA Media Assignments)

Around 15 minutes across the park on foot, find the V&A East Storehouse, a purpose-built, 16,000 sq/m working storage building for the collection’s treasures usually hidden away due to space constraints, giving visitors new and unparalleled access to the V&A Museum’s millions-strong collection. As former Arts Minister Ed Vaizey wrote for C&TH earlier this year, ‘We can and should do more to make sure the places where museums keep their collections are open (as much as possible) to the public as well as scholars.’ Spread across three levels, visitors can find mini displays, encounter different unexpected objects and observe conservators at work in the studio.

Young V&A Town Square. (© David Parry/V&A)

Then there’s the Young V&A, a recently revitalised museum dedicated to young people and their creativity.

Is It Free To Enter?

All V&A Museum sites are free to enter to see the permanent collections and a few temporary exhibits, although you have to purchase a ticket for most exhibitions.

Visit vam.ac.uk for more information.