Blog

News, articles and stories from the V&A

Posted by:
Elaine Tierney

Managing editor, V&A Online Journal, Research

I am managing editor of the V&A Online Journal.

Dialogues in Clay

This post was written by Susan Newell, a second-year student on the V&A/RCA MA in History of Design, who works part-time in the V&A’s Ceramics and Glass Department. A...

V&A/RCA History of Design Takes a Bow

In the final post by graduating students, Max Maisey-Curtis reveals the backstage nerves behind the scenes at the 2015 V&A/RCA History of Design Symposium. Earlier this month,...

Congratulations to V&A/RCA History of Design Class of 2015!

Many congratulations to the V&A/RCA History of Design students, who graduated amidst the pomp and ceremony of the Albert Hall, last Friday, 3 July. We wish them all the very...

In praise of ibid.

The third guest post by graduating V&A/RCA History of Design students sees Joanne Pilcher put a fresh spin on the meaning of ‘ibid’. ‘ibid.: In the same source (used to...

V&A/RCA History of Design Joins the Dots at ShowRCA

In the second guest post by graduating V&A/RCA History of Design students, Chloe Frechette and Zara Arshad take us behind the scenes in a sneak preview of what’s on display...

Showing Ourselves Up: History of Design at ShowRCA 2015

In the first of a series of posts by graduating V&A/RCA History of Design students, Georgia Newmarch introduces the Class of 2015. Up on the fifth floor is the V&A’s...

V&A/RCA History of Design Open Day – Wednesday 1 July

See this picture of the V&A/RCA History of Design course library at the museum? This space used to be the Royal College of Art’s drawing studio, but is now home to MA,...

V&A/RCA History of Design gets ready for ShowRCA 2015

As we enter the supposedly slack time of midsummer, do spare a thought for second-year students on the V&A/RCA History of Design MA. Not only did they hand in 30,000-word...

Handshake with Helsinki: An encounter with Alvar and Aino Aalto

For a week in spring term, first-year students on the V&A/RCA History of Design MA are liberated from their libraries and seminar rooms to learn on site in some of some of the...

Last chance: V&A/IHR Early Modern Material Cultures Seminars!

You’re not too late for this year’s V&A/IHR Early Modern Material Cultures Seminars! This Monday, 1 June, marks the penultimate event in 2015’s highly successful series....

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

10 things we’ve learnt from a history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

With the last of the Object Pitch Days on the blog, and before the next stage of the project is announced, it seems an opportune moment to take stock of what we’ve already...

Calling all budding historians of design! Bursaries available for V&A/RCA MA History of Design, 2015/16

A unique opportunity for funded MA places on the Victoria and Albert Museum/Royal College of Art MA in History of Design in 2015/16 only, supporting students who could not...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 8 – 26 November 2014 – Part 2

With only half an hour left, let’s get right back to the action in Seminar Room A. Time was running out on the first stage of a history of the OBJECT in 100 worlds,...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 8 – 26 November 2014 – Part I

We’d finally made it: the very last Object Pitches for a history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds. Befitting the occasion Bill Sherman was in a ruminative mood, reminding us that...

Exploring the Edge: The Significance of the Marginal

We love thinking about all kinds of material traces at the V&A – even those that might seem taboo, like writing, or even drawing, in books. Current History of Design MA...

Don’t miss out! V&A/IHR Early Modern Material Cultures Seminars 2015 start next Wednesday 15 April

If you’ve not already made a note in your diary, here’s another quick reminder that the V&A/IHR Early Modern Material Cultures Seminars 2015 start next Wednesday...

It’s the drink talking (and walking)

Who says intoxication gets in the way of learning? Current V&A/RCA History of Design student Magnus Copps describes a pub crawl like no other: one that stays completely sober...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 7 – 19 November 2014

Object Pitch Day 7 began with a high-speed intro from Bill Sherman – by this point we were well drilled in what was going to happen – as we settled down for a packed...

New Season of V&A/IHR Early Modern Material Cultures Seminars

Want to know more about 18th-century shipwrecks? Or the magnificent gifts exchanged between Siam and Louis XIV? Are you intrigued by the sound of Doctor Dildo’s ‘Dauncing...

We Think through Practice!

V&A/RCA History of Design students are one of the museum’s best-kept secrets. They organise conferences, symposia and shows, take part in practice-based workshops and...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 6 – Wednesday 30 October 2014

A flurry of last-minute withdrawals meant that Object Pitch Day 6 was less packed than previous sessions. Who can blame the dropouts? As previous days had shown, the competition...

Stories of Urban Resistance in Hong Kong

Each term the V&A/RCA History of Design Research Seminar Series provides a forum for the newest and most exciting thinking in design history and material culture studies. To...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 5 – Friday 10 October – part 2

Let’s pick up where we left off: half way through a packed Object Pitch Day 5. 20 minutes in and four pitches down, we were thoroughly warmed up, ready for yet more fantastic...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 5 – Friday 10 October – part 1

By Object Pitch Day 5, we were over half way through the process and edging ever closer to our impossible decision. Our call for V&A staff to make their case for one object...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 4 – 1 October 2014

As we settled down for Object Pitch Day 4, we knew the score: it was going to be another hour packed with great objects and great ideas, making the choice of just one object...

A history of an OBJECT in 100 worlds

Object Pitch Day 3 – 16 September 2014

By Object Pitch Day 3 we all knew the rules, and the competition was certainly hotting up. Nine members of V&A staff made their cases for an impressive array of objects, from...

Manners of Building: Architectural Style in England, 1550-1750

by Melissa Evans, MA candidate, V&A/RCA History of Design Some clichés are ubiquitous. Take ‘Home is where the heart is’ – it’s one of those sayings where, once you...

V&A/RCA History of Design Programme announces new award for 2015/16 admissions

The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars The Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars/Mark and Sian Dalrymple Award for Historical Manufacture and Production in the Decorative Arts The...

Power Dressing: Siam, Burma, China and the Tai

by Lupt Utama, MA candidate, V&A/RCA History of Design I grew up in the mountainous city of Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand where Myanmar and Laos meet. As a young boy, I...