This weekend, London gains a new heavyweight cultural pillar as the V&A East Museum opens its doors to the public. The latest big-name building to land in Stratford’s newly christened East Bank hub following Sadler’s Wells East and the V&A Storehouse, it comes with a hefty investment from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and tips the East Bank over the £600 million threshold as a whole: a statement flag planted in the Stratford soil towards making the area a competitive destination for the arts.
The new museum’s aim is not just to replicate its famous South Kensington forebear, but to carve out a particularly east London identity for the space, with local creatives and young people involved in shaping its direction from the beginning. Two permanent free galleries entitled Why We Make showcase an array of objects from the typically historic (Renaissance paintings and Japanese incense boxes) to the notably modern, with designer Molly Goddard’s pink tulle dress, made famous by Jodie Comer in Killing Eve, given prime placing.
