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4 months ago
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A large industrial shed in the Olympic Park has gained the V&A logo on its roof as it prepares to open as the museum group’s latest outlet – a warehouse that’s also open to the public.
Like all good museums, they often have more in storage than there is on display – sometimes due to a lack of space to show off the nice things, but much more often because they aim to collect every example of something, and having 5,684 varieties of something is preserving history, but rarely display worthy.
To make more of the archive available to the public, while also avoiding the lengthy conservation process required for a full exhibition, is something that museums are increasingly interested in offering to their visitors.
To name a few, the London Transport Museum regularly opens its Acton depot to the public, the Maritime Museum runs tours, and recently, the Science Museum did the same with their new Swindon warehouse.
Now, the V&A has joined the gang.
Despite the size of the warehouse, the entrance is almost an afterthought, looking more like the fire escape, but once inside and bags put away – you’re invited to walk through a corridor of a staircase into the heart of the warehouse.
The architects have deliberately tried to create a sense of theatre about the space, with a large central void around which the Indiana Jones-esque rows of shelves upon shelves are filled with the V&A’s collection.
You can walk around the perimeter of the space, peer down through the glass floor or over the edges of the walkways and get up really, really close to the collection.
Unlike a curated exhibition, this is a warehouse, so objects are placed wherever there is space, allowing you to walk along the shelves finding Indian wood carvings alongside Bakelite telephones, punk jackets, and fine china.
Anyone can wander around the space freely, and if you want more, they offer guided tours that delve deeper into the rows of shelving to showcase more of the collection.
As a space, it’s really not much more than a very large shed filled with a lot of shelving and the mechanical requirements necessary to maintain an air-controlled environment, which preserves the collection. The central void adds a sense of the dramatic, but what really works best is the industrial appearance contrasting with the arts and crafts that make the V&A Museum.
After it opens this weekend, the public can wander in freely or book appointments to request items from the archive to study.
As a working warehouse, it’ll be ever-changing as items are moved around, either for study, to go in and out of exhibitions, or on loan to other museums. That regularly changing display should mean it’s a space where people can pop in a few times a year, and there will always be something new to discover on the shelves, slotted in amongst what might go on to become much-loved old friends.
The V&A East Storehouse opens on Saturday 31st May and will be open daily from 10am to 6pm, and late to 10pm on Thursday and Saturdays.
No need to book, unless you want to request specific items to research.
The modest entrance can be found on Parkes Street next to Here East at the north end of the Olympic Park. It’s about a ten-minute walk from Hackney Wick station on the Overground, or 20 minutes walk from Stratford station.
