V&A East Museum to Open 'The Music is Black: A British Story' Exhibition
Celebrating the careers of past and present artists while examining their impact on local music culture.
V&A East will open its doors in 2025, being one of the most significant new projects London has to offer. Located in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the building will celebrate young and international artists driving change in creative sectors while paying tribute to radical visionaries across the country.
Ahead of its opening, V&A East has announced an honorary exhibition championing Black culture across Britain. The Music is Black: A British Story will outline the impact of Black British musicians and their contributions to Jazz, Reggae, Garage, Grime, and more.
The Music is Black: A British Story will explore the past 125 years of UK music history across BBC archives of 1900s composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Trinidadian pianist Winifred Atwell while highlighting international pioneers such as English trip hop collective Massive Attack and British singer-songwriter Eddy Grant.
The exhibition will also survey the careers of current chart-topping artists Kano, Little Simz, Jorja Smith, Ezra Collective, and more. Their work will be reflected across immersive photographs, paintings, sculptures, videos, fashion, and film.
Take a first look at select artworks on display at V&A East’s The Music is Black: A British Story in the gallery above. It will open to the public in 2025.
Elsewhere, Daniel Arsham and Oscar Wang to release the “DongXi” teapot collection on Archive Editions.
