You Won’t Want To Miss This Exhibition Coming To The V&A In 2027
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13 minutes ago
The V&A’s new headline exhibition will chart the evolution of music, art and fashion from Punk to Pop
News just in, the V&A has just announced its 2027 exhibition plans – and it’s safe to say we’re in for a treat. Kicking off its new annual programme in spring with a bang, the museum plans to stage a huge exhibition dedicated to the creative whirlwind that shaped the 1970s and 1980s. Intrigued? Here’s everything you need to know about Punk to Pop, coming to the V&A South Kensington this March.
Here’s What’s On At The V&A Right Now
Punk To Pop At The V&A: Dates, Tickets & What’s On Display
While the V&A might be most famous for its crowd-drawing fashion exhibitions, in recent years, the museum has also set its sights on music. Maybe you dropped by 2022’s Hallyu! The Korean Wave, the major exhibition tracking the globalisation of K-pop? Or maybe you caught 2023’s DIVA, the show dedicated to the female powerhouses of the last two centuries? Perhaps you’ve even made plans to see The Music is Black: A British Story at V&A East Museum, or the upcoming David Bowie exhibition that’s set to hop between V&A institutions next year?
Either way, music at the V&A is a hot topic – and the museum’s upcoming exhibition proves it. Punk to Pop will zoom in on the period from 1972 to 1985, exploring the creative explosion across music, art and fashion that shaped the period. In particular, it will examine how the 70s fuelled the 80s – and how the international punk scene set the foundations for a future of music and pop culture defined by unabashed creative freedom.
Starting with the flamboyant aesthetics of glam rock and disco, the exhibition will then dive into the underground music scene with the emergence of new subcultures, before finishing with a look at the new global pop culture ‘primed for the digital age’.
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What’s On Display?
While exact details are yet to be revealed, the V&A has confirmed that this will be a multi-sensory exhibition, exploring punk’s impact on pop culture throughout the decades through a series of 300 objects – including stage costumes, photography, music videos and designs.
Music is, naturally, set to take the spotlight. Headliners on the bill include the Sex Pistols, The Slits, The Specials, Joy Division, Wham! and Eurythmics. It’s through these household names that the V&A plans to explore how music provided a place to escape, experiment and dream, and embrace individuality, sexuality and identity. Just how the museum plans to do it is yet to be revealed. (Perhaps there will be an encore of the V&A’s 2023 exhibition, DIVA, where visitors explored the exhibition with Bluetooth-linked headsets that shifted song depending on the room?)
And while it’s not a fashion exhibition as such, it wouldn’t be the V&A without some exploration of sartorial power. The 1970s and 1980s had some of the most distinctive fashion of the last century – primarily fuelled by the creatives that pushed the boundaries of art and self-expression. From the studded leather jackets and chunky black boots of the punk era to the neon-drenched spandex of 80s pop, these two eras evolved and clashed in one of the most memorable ways in fashion history.
Wham!, made up of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, photographed in London, 1983. Lin Gered Mankowitz, Iconic Images
Where & When?
Punk to Pop will run at the V&A South Kensington from 13 March 2027 until 2 January 2028.
How To Get Tickets For Punk To Pop At The V&A
Tickets for Punk to Pop are expected to go on sale via the V&A’s official website later this year. If you want to be one of the first people in, it’s recommended that you sign up for the V&A’s newsletter – where they’ll let subscribers know first when tickets drop – or become a member. Members go free and don’t need to book in advance.
