Latest press releases

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Further information can be obtained by contacting our Press Office at press.office@vam.ac.uk

V&A Illustration Awards 2012

The V&A has recently revealed the fourteen artists shortlisted for its annual Illustration Awards. The awards are given to the best book and editorial illustration published in the UK each year and have this year been judged by an illustrious panel made up of fashion designer Orla Kiely, broadcaster and cultural commentator Emma Freud OBE and V&A Director of Design Moira Gemmill.

Download: Shortlist for V&A Illustration Awards 2012 (PDF file, 25.6 KB)

Fast Facts about the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A collection of interesting facts about the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Download: Fast Facts about the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (PDF file, 25.6 KB)

V&A's Great Bed of Ware on loan for the first time to Ware Museum

One of the V&A’s greatest treasures, The Great Bed of Ware, will be on loan to the Ware Museum for a year
from 6 April 2012.

Download: V&A's Great Bed of Ware on loan to Ware Museum press release (PDF file, 205 KB)

Hollywood Costume

Sponsored by Harry Winston

The V&A's autumn exhibition, 'Hollywood Costume', explores the central role costume design plays in cinema storytelling. Bringing together over 100 of the most iconic movie costumes from across a century of film-making, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the clothes worn by unforgettable and beloved characters such as Dorothy Gale, Indiana Jones, Scarlett O'Hara, Jack Sparrow, Holly Golightly and Darth Vader.

Download: Hollywood Costume press release (PDF file, 171 KB)

Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary

Sponsored by Ernst & Young

Next spring the V&A presents the first major solo exhibition exploring the work of one of the most inventive and experimental design studios practising in Britain today.

Download: Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary press release (PDF file, 87 KB)

V&A Highlights for 2012

Download: V&A Highlights for 2012 press release (PDF file, 1.32 MB)

Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950

A spectacular exhibition of more than 60 ballgowns from 1950 to the present day will go on display at the V&A next May. Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950 will be the first exhibition in the newly renovated V&A Fashion Galleries and will feature beautiful ballgowns, red carpet evening gowns and catwalk showstoppers.

Download: Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950 press release (PDF file, 368 KB)

V&A acquires important marble relief

The V&A has acquired a rare and significant sculptural relief by John Deare (1759-98). Considered one of the finest pieces of neo-classical sculpture carved by a British artist, it is the first marble by Deare to join a British public collection. It will go on display in the V&A’s Dorothy and Michael Hintze Sculpture Galleries from 21October 2011.

Download: V&A acquires important marble relief press release (PDF file, 43 KB)

British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age

The V&A’s major spring exhibition will showcase the best of British design and creative talent from the 1948 ‘Austerity Olympics’ to the summer of 2012. It will be the first comprehensive exhibition to examine the ways in which artists and designers who were born, trained or working in the UK have produced innovative and internationally acclaimed works from post-war to the present day.

Download: British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age press release (PDF file, 91.4 KB)

Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970–1990

The V&A’s major autumn exhibition is the first in-depth survey of art, design and architecture of the 1970s and 1980s, examining one of the most contentious phenomena in recent art and design history: Postmodernism. It shows how postmodernism evolved from a provocative architectural movement in the early 1970s and rapidly went on to influence all areas of popular culture including art, film, music, graphics and fashion.

Download Postmodernism: Style and Subversion press release (PDF file, 353 KB)

V&A announces Rachid Koraïchi as winner of the Jameel Prize 2011

Algerian born Rachid Koraïchi has won the £25,000 Jameel Prize for a selection of embroidered cloth banners from a series entitled Les Maitres Invisibles (The Invisible Masters), 2008. Martin Roth, Director of the V&A, Hasan Jameel and Ed Vaizey MP presented Rachid Koraïchi with the prize at a ceremony at the V&A on Monday 12 September.

Download the Jameel Prize winner press release (PDF file, 90 KB)
 

BBC and V&A partnership

The BBC and V&A today announce Handmade in Britain, a year-long season of programming that will be the most wide-ranging and ambitious exploration of decorative arts ever to be undertaken on British Television.

Download Handmade in Britain Press Release (PDF file, 1.4 MB)

V&A appoints architects to design new European Galleries

The V&A has appointed ZMMA to design its new Europe 1600-1800 Galleries. Europe 1600-1800 is the largest gallery refurbishment in the second phase of the V&A’s FuturePlan to transform the Museum through new galleries and redisplays of its collections. The project will see the complete redisplay and reinterpretation of seven galleries containing some of the most magnificent and ornate works of art and design in the V&A’s collections. The reopening of these galleries will complete the restoration of the entire front wing of the Museum.

Download V&A appoints architects to design new European Galleries press release (PDF file, 42.2 KB)

Golden Spider Silk display

The only large textiles in the world to have been created from the silk of spiders will go on display
at the V&A in January 2012. This four metre long woven textile was made from the silk of more than a million female Golden Orb spiders collected in the highlands of Madagascar. The hand-woven brocaded textile is
naturally golden in colour and took over four years to create. It will be shown together with a new
golden cape, currently being woven and embroidered in Madagascar, which will go on public
display for the very first time at the V&A.

Download Golden Spider Silk display press release (PDF file, 60 KB)

Power of Making

This autumn, the V&A and Crafts Council will celebrate the role of making in our lives by presenting an eclectic selection of over 100 exquisitely crafted objects, ranging from a life-size crochet bear to a ceramic eye patch, a fine metal flute to dry stone walling. Power of Making will be a cabinet of curiosities showing works by both amateurs and leading makers from around the world to present a snapshot of making in our time.

Download Power of Making press release (PDF file, 444 KB)

New Photographs Gallery

A permanent new gallery to show highlights from the V&A’s internationally renowned collection of photographs will open this autumn, considerably extending the space dedicated to photographs at the Museum. The gallery will launch with a display of works by key figures of photographic history including Victorian portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron and significant works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Diane Arbus and Irving Penn.

Download New Photographs Gallery press release (PDF file, 275 KB)

Bonita Trust Support V&As Work in India

The Bonita Trust donated £150,000 to support the V&A’s work in India over the next two years. This will enable the V&A to further develop its partnerships with museums and the cultural sector in India and to deliver a programme that promotes skill sharing and cultural understanding between the two countries.

Download Bonita Trust press release (PDF file, 41.1 KB)

Swarm Study/III by Random International

The V&A unveils SWARM STUDY/III, a new interactive light installation by Random International. The piece overhangs the staircase that adjoins the Architecture and Ceramics Galleries, and will be on display for the next three years. The installation has been developed specifically for this position, in association with the Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

Download Swarm Study/III by Random International press release (PDF file, 47.6 KB)

Japanese Enamels: The Seven Treasures

Following the ‘reopening’ of the country in the late 1850s, the art of cloisonné enamelling became one of the Japan’s most successful forms of manufacture and export. This display of over one hundred and twenty objects ranges from elegant inlaid metalwork of the late 17th century through the Golden Age and into the 20th century.

Download Japanese Enamels: The Seven Treasures press release (PDF file, 182 KB)

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton: A Diamond Jubilee Celebration

To celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the V&A is holding an exhibition of portraits of Her Majesty by photographer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). Presenting highlights of the V&A’s collection of Beaton’s royal photography, the exhibition will depict The Queen in her roles as princess, monarch and mother and include a number of photographs never before seen, as well as excerpts from Beaton’s diaries and letters.

Download Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton press release (PDF file, 913 KB)

Shortlist announced for V&A Illustration Awards 2011

The V&A has today announced a shortlist of 18 candidates for its annual Illustration Awards. The Awards are given to the best book and editorial illustration published in the UK each year.

Download Illustration Awards shortlist information press release (PDF file, 98 KB)

Private Eye: The first 50 years

The V&A will hold an exhibition celebrating 50 years of Private Eye. Since it was founded in October 1961, the magazine has distinguished itself from other titles with its unique combination of humorous cartoons and satire with hard-hitting journalism.

Download Private Eye: The first 50 years press release (PDF file, 108.1 KB)

V&A appoints new Director

On 21 April 2011 the V&A announces that the Prime Minister and V&A Board of Trustees have appointed Professor Martin Roth as the new Director of the V&A.

Download V&A Appoints New Director press release (PDF file, 48 KB)

V&A announces architects to lead exhibition road project

On 28 March 2011 the V&A announces that Amanda Levete Architects (AL_A) have won the international design competition for the Museum’s Exhibition Road development.

Download V&A announces architects to lead exhibition road project press release (PDF file, 49 KB)

V&A announces the shortlist for the Jameel Prize 2011

On 17 March 2011 the V&A announces the shortlist for the Jameel Prize 2011 at Art Dubai.  Ten artists and designers have been shortlisted for this year's prize, which is awarded every two years.

Download V&A announces the shortlist for the Jameel Prize 2011 (PDF file, 70 KB)

V&A unveils Exhibition Road Project designs

On 2 March 2011 the V&A unveils the design proposals by the seven architectural teams shortlisted for the V&A's Exhibition Road Project with a display of the models in the Sackler Centre.

Download V&A unveils Exhibition Road Project designs press release (PDF file, 520 KB)

Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography

The first UK exhibition of contemporary South African photography from the last ten years will be shown at the V&A this spring. Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography will feature over 150 works by some of the most exciting and inventive photographers living and working in South Africa today.

Download Figures and Fictions press release (PDF file, 44 KB)

The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900

This spring, the V&A will present the most comprehensive exhibition ever staged on the Aesthetic Movement in Britain. Prizing the importance of art and the pleasure of beautiful things above all else, it was the first artistic movement to inspire an entire lifestyle.

Download The Cult of Beauty press release (PDF file, 75 KB)

Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres

Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres have been designed by some of the world’s most high profile architects including Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Richard Rogers and Zaha Hadid to provide welcoming and uplifting spaces and support for those affected by cancer. To mark the 15th anniversary of the first Maggie’s Centre, the V&A will present the first comprehensive study of these remarkable buildings in the V&A and RIBA Architecture Gallery.

Download Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres press release (PDF file, 128 KB)

 

Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary

The V&A presents the first major solo exhibition exploring the work of one of the most inventive and experimental design studios practising in Britain today. The exhibition will showcase two decades of projects conceived by British designer Thomas Heatherwick and his studio. The exhibition is part of the London 2012 Festival (21 June - 9 September 2012).

Download Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary press release (PDF file, 87.2KB)

 

V&A Christmas tree by Studio Roso

To celebrate the festive period, the V&A has commissioned design duo Studio Roso to create a Christmas tree for the Grand Entrance of the Museum.

Download V&A Christmas tree by Studio Roso press release (PDF file 50.5 KB)