Just yesterday, the V&A East Storehouse opened! This new free-to-visit branch of the V&A museums allows visitors to have an up-close experience with all the pieces in their collections. Unlike other museums, visitors can learn about the artifacts but also the process of conservation through the museum’s focus on the behind-the-scenes process of curating the collections. The collections mainly spotlight cultural and artistic movements as well as a specialization in the culture and activism of East London.
This is a great place to explore the…
- Archive of Art & Design: holding works from all parts of the design process in industries and arts from architecture to book illustration with a focus on 1900s-2000s British design
- Theatre & Performance Archives: a collection of all kinds of UK theater with all paper materials including diaries, designs, and manuscripts
- Clothworkers’ Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion: curations of textiles from dresses to tapestries from the historically to the contemporarily famous
- National Video Archive of Performance: find hundreds of live recordings of theatrical performances for free
The “Order an Object” Experience:
In addition to being able to visit and explore the above archives by appointment, the storehouse allows attendees to order any object in the archives and other V&A archives via online form. By ordering just two weeks in advance, any curious mind can have a hands-on experience with the pieces under the guidance of the conservators of the storehouse. This is unique feature of the storehouse and is ideal for any aspiring researchers.
Why is this so useful for history students? 
- The entire experience is free which is great for students trying to study on a budget
- This archive can make for a unique research topic because the storehouse is so newly opened
- The storehouse offers tours which give helpful insight into the curation process which is helpful for anyone looking to get into this career path
- The “Order an Object” experience allows students to see artifacts first-hand rather than a digital log or scan of them
- The contemporary and cultural focus of the museum opens a trove of pieces for those looking to study more modern time periods