A new interactive space – offering visitors hands-on access to over half a million creative objects – will open in east London next spring.
V&A East Storehouse will open its doors on 31 May 2025, and will offer items spanning 5,000 years of history – from costumes belonging to Sir Elton John and the Sex Pistols, to Roman frescos and Mid-Century furniture, through to the journey of the iPhone and vintage football shirts.
The vast warehouse space sits across four levels, and at 16,000 square meters is bigger than 30 basketball courts.
Announcing the opening date, V&A East director Gus Casely-Hayford said: “Post-Brexit, post-pandemic, you sense that people need something to inspire and uplift us. Looking back, to look forward.
“We hope this space will become a crucible for ideas of innovation, for future narrative. We are so excited to bring that energy to East London… We think this is the chemistry which will really fire the 21st Century, and we can’t wait to open our doors.”
Unlike other archives, where specialists, researchers and academics may request permission to view, this will offer everyone – whatever their job or inspiration to view – the chance to get up close and personal with the items.
Head of collections access Kate Parsons explains: “It will offer visitors the chance to put in a request to view any part of any object at any time”.
She says a triage system ahead of every request will “take a risk-based and intelligence-led approach” ahead of access, to ensure the safety of both the items and the viewers.
With items on show including fragile furniture and Samurai swords, it’s a system that will need to be flexible, but Parsons assures Sky News that every item in the archive will be available for examination in some format.
Every curated item will have a label with the author’s name attached to it and the date it was written, to give context to the voice, and whose perspective it’s offering.
The ultimate creative inspiration
A group of young people from the area have worked closely with the teams creating the spaces, helping across all areas – including the selection of brand consultants, the design and look of the space, and the way items are presented to the public.
Putting the behind-the-scenes workings of the archive front and centre of the story, the space hopes to inspire the public to become researchers in their own right – whether for a passion project, inspiration in decorating their home or just for the fun of it.
The booking system will be online, with physical viewings at the Storehouse in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East London.
A centre dedicated to David Bowie will open the following September, with more than 90,000 objects honouring the cult icon who has inspired generations of artists since his death in 2016, aged 69.
The Bowie collection will include musical instruments, costumes, notebooks and handwritten lyrics, as well as guest curators including Bowie’s collaborators.
A second space – V&A East Museum will open on the same site in spring 2026.