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Agents of Encounter
When objects begin to act back
Step in and let the Storehouse lead you somewhere unexpected. Agents of Encounter invites you to wander between a series of intimate installations and live moments unfolding across the galleries, created by first-year BSc Architecture students from The Bartlett School of Architecture.
Developed through close study of the stored collection, each intervention treats its location as material in its own right, responding to light, circulation, acoustics, and neighbouring displays. Some encounters ask for your attention; others quietly change the space around you.
There’s no fixed route. Instead, drift between moments of discovery, exploring how artefacts shape our behaviours, memories and ways of seeing, telling new stories and revealing unexpected ways of acting back.
All events are free, and places are designated on a first-come, first-served basis unless stated otherwise.
Filming and photography will take place at this event.
If you have any access requirements, please let us know in advance by emailing accessibility@vam.ac.uk.
Please note if V&A East Storehouse or any of the activations reach capacity, we will allow access on a one-in, one-out basis
Programme overview
All events are free, and places are designated on a first-come, first-served basis unless stated otherwise.
Filming and photography will take place at this event.
If you have any access requirements, please let us know in advance by emailing accessibility@vam.ac.uk.
Please note if V&A East Storehouse or any of the activations reach capacity, we will allow access on a one-in, one-out basis
Programme overview
1. Light forms
Location: Gallery 1 (Level 1)
Three sculptural installations respond to water in its liquid, frozen and vaporous states. Using projection, light and material contrasts, the work explores transformation and instability, inviting visitors to observe how matter shifts between permanence and ephemerality.
Three sculptural installations respond to water in its liquid, frozen and vaporous states. Using projection, light and material contrasts, the work explores transformation and instability, inviting visitors to observe how matter shifts between permanence and ephemerality.
2. Active Connections
Location: Collections Hall – North Corner (Level 1)
An interactive loom constructed from reclaimed materials invites visitors to contribute to a growing textile structure. The installation explores labour, tactility and collective making, foregrounding the act of weaving as both social and architectural practice.
An interactive loom constructed from reclaimed materials invites visitors to contribute to a growing textile structure. The installation explores labour, tactility and collective making, foregrounding the act of weaving as both social and architectural practice.
3. De-loom
Location: Corridor L320 (Level 2)
A compact mechanical loom disrupts the rhythm of a transitional space. Sound, movement and repetition draw attention to the corridor as a site of production rather than passage, reframing circulation as encounter.
A compact mechanical loom disrupts the rhythm of a transitional space. Sound, movement and repetition draw attention to the corridor as a site of production rather than passage, reframing circulation as encounter.
4. Le Remous des Ombres
Location: Viewing Balcony L331 (Level 2)
Two rotating sculptural elements cast shifting shadows across the floor, accompanied by audio from Le Train Bleu (1924). The work creates a choreography of light, movement and memory, activated by the viewer’s presence.
Two rotating sculptural elements cast shifting shadows across the floor, accompanied by audio from Le Train Bleu (1924). The work creates a choreography of light, movement and memory, activated by the viewer’s presence.
5. Within, within
Location: Robin Hood Gardens (Level 2)
Installed within the reconstructed fabric of Robin Hood Gardens, this intervention reflects on domesticity, care and adaptation. Soft materials and hinged elements invite close observation rather than touch, encouraging quiet reflection within a charged architectural setting.
Installed within the reconstructed fabric of Robin Hood Gardens, this intervention reflects on domesticity, care and adaptation. Soft materials and hinged elements invite close observation rather than touch, encouraging quiet reflection within a charged architectural setting.
6. The Third Desk
Location: Kaufman Office Corner (South) (Level 3)
An interactive table equipped with optical viewing devices offers multiple perspectives on the surrounding space. Visitors are invited to lean in, look through and negotiate shared viewpoints, questioning authority, authorship and institutional vision.
An interactive table equipped with optical viewing devices offers multiple perspectives on the surrounding space. Visitors are invited to lean in, look through and negotiate shared viewpoints, questioning authority, authorship and institutional vision.
7. Looking Near and Far
Location: Clothworkers Room Overlook (Level 3)
This illuminated table encourages visitors to examine surfaces, details and textures using handheld torches. The work plays with scale and perception, prompting shifts between intimacy and distance when engaging with the collection below.
This illuminated table encourages visitors to examine surfaces, details and textures using handheld torches. The work plays with scale and perception, prompting shifts between intimacy and distance when engaging with the collection below.
8. Ghosts
Location: Collections Hall – East Corner (Level 1)
A deployable viewing structure made from translucent materials reveals partial views that appear and disappear as visitors move. The installation reflects on absence, residue and the unseen narratives embedded within stored collections.
A deployable viewing structure made from translucent materials reveals partial views that appear and disappear as visitors move. The installation reflects on absence, residue and the unseen narratives embedded within stored collections.
9. An Artist’s Studio
Location: Level 2 Walkway, Collections Hall – North-East
A rotating fabric structure evokes the atmosphere of a working studio suspended within the museum. The piece stages making as an ongoing process rather than a finished outcome, blurring boundaries between production, display and performance.
A rotating fabric structure evokes the atmosphere of a working studio suspended within the museum. The piece stages making as an ongoing process rather than a finished outcome, blurring boundaries between production, display and performance.
10. Dome Reflection
Location: Gallery 3 (Level 2)
A large, transformable dome structure opens and closes throughout the day, shifting from an intimate enclosure to an expansive form. Constructed from lightweight materials, the installation explores shelter, reflection and collective presence.
A large, transformable dome structure opens and closes throughout the day, shifting from an intimate enclosure to an expansive form. Constructed from lightweight materials, the installation explores shelter, reflection and collective presence.
11. Fleeting Moments
Location: Kaufman Office Corner (East) (Level 3)
A series of rotating elements and translucent screens produce fleeting shadows that shift as visitors move through the space. Using light, wax and fabric, the installation explores impermanence and attention, asking how moments of encounter are formed, dissolve, and leave traces behind. The work encourages visitors to slow down and notice subtle changes in light, movement and time.
12. Patterns of Kaufman
Location: Kaufman Office Corner (North) (Level 3)
A low, intimate seating arrangement creates a quiet pause within the Storehouse. Combining soft lighting, translucent surfaces and simple furniture, this installation invites visitors to sit, gather and share space. The work considers rest, proximity and conversation as architectural acts, foregrounding care and stillness within the museum environment.
Header image: Agents of Encounter: Active Connections