Museum of London offers the public a “menu” to choose works to their liking

▲ A view of the newly opened V&A East Storehouse museum in East London, England. Photo by AFP

Latin Press

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 4

London, The V&A Museum in London offers its visitors the unique opportunity to choose, as if from a menu, from some 250,000 historical objects, request the most desired one, view it, and be welcomed into a room for a private tour.

This has been the case since May 31, when the unusual exhibition space opened in a warehouse specially adapted for the occasion, allowing anyone to observe pieces from the collection up close, breaking conventional conventions and promoting direct interaction with cultural heritage.

Visiting a gallery and examining thousand-year-old ceramics up close, enjoying jewelry from centuries past alone, or inspecting the interior of a Versace handbag represents a unique and free experience with a radically new concept.

Most art galleries around the world have valuable pieces hidden in their storage, which the public never gets to see or enjoy; however, the V&A Storehouse offers that opportunity.

These spaces that treasure heritage should be, and are, for everyone, said the main curator, Georgia Haseldine, who added: the initiative seeks to democratize access to art and culture .

The V&A's collection is for everyone and belongs to those who appreciate art, he added. Never before has the public been allowed free access, without reservation, to the same space as a national collection, and on this scale, he added.

A fifth of the museum's collection is now available for viewing in the four-story building, located on the site originally intended for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Retired Jane Bailey, a former physics teacher and museum visitor, was fascinated by the black and red drum kit that belonged to Keith Moon of The Who, the lead curator explained.

They compete for space in this warehouse, spread over more than 30 basketball courts and shelves filled with ceramics, tapestries, paintings, and toys from the Tudor period.

Among the exhibits is also the stunning stage curtain designed for Le Train Bleu , a copy of a Pablo Picasso painting created especially for the 1924 Ballets Russes production.

One of the Storehouse's first visitors was Princess Kate Middleton, patron of the V&A and a keen art lover, who took a guided tour this week.

The Princess of Wales described the collection as eclectic as she used the request-an-item system to browse a catalogue of samples by renowned 19th-century English textile designer William Morris, as well as rolls of ornate textiles and musical instruments.

All pieces are available to the public seven days a week and can be reserved online for a private consultation at the date and time of your choice.

Museum staff are present to supervise as visitors, wearing purple gloves, satisfy their curiosity and spend time with the selected objects.

▲ Art Basel opened yesterday in Basel, Switzerland. It is one of the most important fairs of modern and contemporary art, bringing together the work of around 4,000 artists and more than 280 galleries from five continents. Pictured here is the work "Choir ," mounted outside the Basel fairgrounds by German painter Katharina Grosse, which seeks to challenge traditional concepts by turning contemporary architecture into a large-scale canvas. Photo: Afp

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 4