CreateFutures

CreateFutures is the V&A’s access and outreach programme for young people aged 13–21. It aims to enrich young people's lives by collaborating with youth and community groups to organise outreach sessions and museum visits that help young people to develop their creative potential and futures.

We can visit groups or provide a variety of museum based activities, including workshops, tours or longer term projects.  Do contact us to find out how we can work with you on 020 7942 2211.

Workshops

Free, max 15 people depending on needs of the group.
Minimum 3 months advance booking
Workshops can be 1hr–3 hrs.
For enquiries and booking call: +44 (0)20 7942 2211

Create! Fashion

Many community and youth groups do fashion projects. Kick start your project with a visit to the V&A. Explore fashion around the museum with us and bring along your cameras and sketchbooks to collect ideas.

A number of organisations bring their groups to the museum to inspire their fashion projects including:
Fashion Awareness Direct
Set Fashion Free

Create! Headwear

This design workshop is suitable for all ages. Participants look at headgear such as hats, helmets and hoods exploring their uses and histories and discuss issues of image and identity. They then make their own designs in the studio, inspired by objects they see in the galleries. This workshop was devised with community groups as part of the Design for Life project.

Create! 60s Pop and Fashion

In this multi-sensory session, participants explore music performance and fashion. They look at iconic costumes worn by Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend's smashed guitar, try on replica costumes, learn to dance like The Supremes and can also create their own album cover.

Every Object Tells a Story

This multi-sensory session focuses on one object in the collection and can be followed by practical activities in the studio. This can also be delivered as an outreach session if young people are unable to visit the museum.

Some Create! Workshops advertised here for individuals to book on to, can be repeated and adapted for groups. Please contact us to discuss availability and suitability.

Groups are welcome to come along to our free events. See our events calendar for what’s on.

Youth Forum

CreateVoice is the name of our young people's collective which welcomes new members aged 16 - 21.  CreateVoice meet monthly with staff at the museum. Activities include:

• Developing ideas for programmes and projects
• Writing reviews of exhibitions
• Curating activities for our Create! Festivals
• Giving tours of exhibitions and galleries
• Producing trails, films and other kinds of resources for young people
• Organising the Friday Forums, a monthly event led by the group, inviting artists in residence and other creative professionals to give talks about their work and run workshops for the CreateVoice group and any other young people that wish to come along

Find out more about CreateVoice here
Come along to a Friday Forum session to meet the CreateVoice collective.

Projects

A number of exciting projects have been delivered in collaboration with community groups. Here you can see a sample:

Design for Life

2008–2011
In collaboration with other museums around the country and Action for Children, this innovative programme introduced young people to museums through design activities. They made their own designs, working with professional designers. Find out more about the project and download our self-guided Toolkit for youth and community project workers as well as activities to use with groups in museums.

Digital Pioneers

Digital Pioneers encourages young people with an interest in digital design to progress their ideas and digital skills with the help of digital artists and designers, using the V&A’s digital studio, kit and programmes. Since 2009, young people have taken part in taster workshops and longer-term projects, producing animated films, 3D designs and architectural models. Activities also give insights into how artists and designers use digital technology and potential careers.

2009: Working in partnership with East Potential and V&A Designer in Residence, Jo Lawrence, participants from east London created their own short animated films based on the V&A's collection and exhibition programme. A public screening of the films was shown as part of the Create! Digital Festival in February 2010 at the V&A. Participants in this project have since graduated to work as peer mentors for 2010 projects.

2010: Participants worked with support from Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Media Prospects and V&A Designer in Residence Christian Kerrigan to create their own 3D objects for a 3D virtual gallery.

CreateFutures collaborated with the Stephen Lawrence Centre and design team, Abberant Architecture, to give 16 young people with an interest in architecture, the chance to take part in a two day course to create dynamic digital architectural ideas, inspired by the V&A’s exhibition 1:1 Architects Build Small Spaces.
View their designs on our Flickr page.

Blue Train: Young Curators & Designers

July–December 2010
This project explored creative responses to the major autumn V&A exhibition Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929. Participants worked to design and choreograph a public performance and curate an exhibition of their work. The finished work was performed at the Museum on 11 December 2010. Blue Train is a partnership project with East Potential Foyers and the Victoria and Albert Museum supported by the Arts Council, Heritage Lottery Fund Young Roots and Merchant Taylors.