The V&A East Storehouse museum opens to the public in east London today.
Visitors can get closer to our national collections at V&A East Storehouse with 50,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 archive collections that they can book to view and get up close.
The collections span ancient Buddhist sculpture to PJ Harvey’s guitar, costumes worn by film star Vivien Leigh, items from the Glastonbury music festival, Suffragette scarves, vintage football shirts and even road signs designed by Margaret Calvert.
The largest Picasso work in the world is on show, the rarely-displayed Ballets Russes Le Train Bleu theatre tapestry measuring 30ft by 33ft, last seen in public in 1924.
It is on display in the new ‘gallery of epic proportions’ built to show the striking collection of large-scale textiles and theatre stage cloths.
East Storehouse is a world-first in size, scale and ambition, according to the V&A, that immerses visitors in half-a-million works.
“This is a backstage pass for people to access our national collections,” V&A’s deputy director Tim Reeve said.
“There’s so much to discover, from conservation and how we care for our cultural heritage around the world to the artistry of our museum technicians.”
East Storehouse is part of the East Bank district and sits on four levels on the site of the former London 2012 Olympics media and broadcast centre.
The project is supported by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan who said: “This revolutionises access to the world’s leading collections and going behind the scenes to see some incredible treasures. It ensures London stays the creative capital of the world.”
Monumental objects preserved for the nation include a 15th century gilded wooden ceiling from Spain’s now-lost Torrijos Palace and a concrete building section from Robin Hood Gardens, the huge housing estate in Poplar demolished 10 years ago.
East Storehouse is the first of V&A East’s two cultural centres opening in Stratford. The second, V&A East Museum, is set to open in spring next year.
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