Prince Consort Gallery

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View showing the gallery's 1950s mahogany cabinets and 1860s architectural features (pictured in 2024) Craft x Tech exhibition at V&A 2024 - 5.jpg
View showing the gallery's 1950s mahogany cabinets and 1860s architectural features (pictured in 2024)

The Prince Consort Gallery (Room 110; V&A Gallery 110) is an exhibition space in the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in South Kensington, London. It was originally used to display "many of the most interesting and costly possessions" in the museum's collection, and subsequently, to store parts of the V&A's textile archive. The gallery is now used for special events and exhibitions, and occasionally, as a lunchroom for school groups and museum staff.

Contents

History and function

Design for end of Prince Consort Gallery by Godfrey Sykes (1880s) Examples of the works of art in the Museum and of the decorations of the building, with brief descriptions (1881) (14781462222).jpg
Design for end of Prince Consort Gallery by Godfrey Sykes (1880s)

After its construction in the second half of the 19th century, the V&A's Prince Consort Gallery originally displayed "many of the most interesting and costly possessions of the Museum, in enamel, gold, and silversmith's work, jewellery, watches, clocks, &c." [3] [4] The objects in the South Kensington Museum, as the V&A was then known, were not simply displayed for the "delight connoisseurs, but to [...] educate British designers, manufacturers and workers in good taste and technical prowess." [5]

Following the Second World War, during which many of the museum's holdings were dispersed to other locations for safekeeping, [6] the gallery was never restored to its previous configuration and remained closed to the public. Initially "Room 110 was boarded up" and served as a storage space, [a] then, in the 1950s, the gallery was "lined with beautiful mahogany cabinets" which "held parts of the museum's [...] textile collection". [8] [7] Eventually, it became a lunchroom for museum staff and large school groups, and was also used to host special events. [8] [7]

Since 2012, the Prince Consort Gallery has been "part of a [...] redevelopment and restoration scheme intended to convert it back into a public gallery space." More recently, it has been a used as a venue for the London Design Festival (the V&A has also been described as the "true epicentre" of the festival itself), [9] [10] [11] [1] as well as the location for various public and private events hosted by the museum, diverse artist in residence programmes, and occasional exhibitions. [12] [13]

Location and characteristics

Room 110 It is a 35 meter long gallery, [8] similar in proportion to the adjacent Gilbert Bayes Gallery (Room 111) [14] [7] It is situated between the two Leighton galleries (Rooms 102 and 107) on Level 2 of the museum. [15] [16] The ensemble of these galleries "were constructed chiefly of brick, somewhat profusely ornamented with terra-cotta, and were built from the designs of Captain Fowke". [3] Architectural detailing and decorative elements by Godfrey Sykes – including a mosaic portrait of Prince Albert, from whom the gallery takes its name, can still be seen. [2] [b]

A museum visitor interacts with a Tsugaru Nuri lacquer theremin by Ini Archibong (showing 1950s mahogany cabinets and original tile floor details) Craft x Tech exhibition at V&A 2024 - 13.jpg
A museum visitor interacts with a Tsugaru Nuri lacquer theremin by Ini Archibong (showing 1950s mahogany cabinets and original tile floor details)

Both sides of the space are clad in 1950s mahogany woodwork and wall cabinetry, which conceals the original architectural features, detailing, and window openings (some of which detail is still partially visible when the cabinet doors are ajar). [8] The space is covered by a ceiling supported by visible a Victorian era iron-framed structure partially clad with coffered panels, and is entered through a concealed ornate barrel vaulted foyer. [18] [7] The original decorative motifs of the 19th century tile floor are largely intact, though also partially concealed by the mahogany casework of the gallery's cabinets. [4] [ citation needed ]

Exhibitions and events

Beatie Wolfe's The Art of Music in the Digital Age Beatie Wolfe's V&A Exhibition in the Prince Consort Gallery.jpg
Beatie Wolfe's The Art of Music in the Digital Age

Since the gallery's conversion back into a public space, its use has been varied, wide-ranging, and diverse. In 2019, the V&A staged Behind the Curtain with British painter Francis Hamel, during which the artist was invited to install a studio and paint in the gallery. Hamel worked on portraits of a number of well known personalities, in situ, while the public were invited to view his process. [19] [20] Other artist interventions have included Beatie Wolfe's "series of world-first designs" titled The Art of Music in the Digital Age, [21] [22] and Canadian artist Flynn Talbot's transformation of the space into an immersive lighting installation which he called a Reflection Room (2018 and 2017 respectively). [23] [24] [25]

Eras Tour ballgown by Oscar de la Renta pictured in the Taylor Swift Songbook Trail exhibition (2024) Taylor Swift Songbook Trail Eras Tour film premiere 02.jpg
Eras Tour ballgown by Oscar de la Renta pictured in the Taylor Swift Songbook Trail exhibition (2024)

The wide variety of events and exhibitions staged in the Prince Consort Gallery has ranged from the display of complex experimental technologies to artisanal handcrafts; and from the work of well known creators to underrepresented groups. [28] [29] [30] [13] In 2019 the Sony Design Studio installed an autonomous robotic AI construction called Affinity in Autonomy which explored how "the relationship between humans and technology will evolve"; [31] [32] [33] [10] to a multi-disciplinary display of hand-crafted works titled Unstruck Melody by Nirbhai (Nep) Singh Sidhu in collaboration with the arts collective Without Shape Without Form. [34] [35] [28] During the 2024 London Design Festival, the museum hosted the Craft x Tech Tohoku Project, an "experimental and artistic project that explores how aesthetic sensibilities embedded in Japanese craft can be reimagined" through the lens of contemporary design and technology. [1] [36] [37] [17] [38]

Oitama Tsumugi kimono by Gentaro Nitta pictured in the Craft x Tech Tohoku Project exhibition (2024) Craft x Tech exhibition at V&A 2024 - 23.jpg
Oitama Tsumugi kimono by Gentaro Nitta pictured in the Craft x Tech Tohoku Project exhibition (2024)

Also in 2024, the "rarely-seen Prince Consort Gallery [was] the only space in the museum entirely dedicated to" Taylor Swift's Songbook Trail exhibition. [26] [27] [39] [40] [13]

As part of the museum's ongoing artist in residence programme (in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, London), the German artist and graphic designer Helmut Völter was invited in 2016 to spend six months working and studying in the museum's nearby photography archives (Rooms 100 and 101), at the conclusion of which time he presented a new work titled The Cabinets. [8] The exhibition used the gallery's own features as part of an installation that combined works from the museum's archives displayed in compositions together with Völter's own writing, photographs, and research. [12]

See also

Notes

  1. "After the Second World War, Room 110 was boarded up to serve as storage space, but is currently (April 2012) part of a major redevelopment and restoration scheme intended to convert it back into a public gallery space." [7]
  2. "The mosaic portrait of Prince Albert which lent the gallery its nineteenth century name of 'The Prince Consort Gallery', may still be seen above the entrance to Room 102." [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Chicco, Gianfranco (11 September 2024). "Prefecture makes perfect". London Design Festival . Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 Sykes, Godfrey. "Design [for] the Prince Consort's Gallery at the South Kensington Museum, by Godfrey Sykes. London, 19th century". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Museum displays at South Kensington Museum". Pitt Rivers Museum . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  4. Ferren, Andrew (13 May 2024). "How to Navigate London's Wondrous (and Very Big) V&A Museum". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 31 May 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  5. Darling, Elizabeth (20 December 2002). "Designing Britain – BCMI Introduction". University of Brighton, Design Archives. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Watkins, John (1876–1881). "The Prince Consort's Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Quinlan, Kate (2016-09-28). "Helmut Völter: V&A Goethe Photography Resident finishes at the V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Blog). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  8. Bamford, Abbey (15 September 2023). "Inside the V&A's London Design Festival programme". Design Week . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 Zilli, Enrico (17 September 2019). "LDF2019: 7 installations pushing design boundaries at V&A". ArchiPanic. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  10. Martin, Colin (24 Jan 2018). "The value of design". Architecture Now. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  11. 1 2 "The Cabinets; Prince Consort's Gallery of the V&A" (PDF). Goethe-Institut London . September 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 "Taylor Swift Songbook Trail". Victoria and Albert Museum . 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  13. "Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Digital Map). Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  14. "Leighton, Room 102". Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Digital Map). Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  15. "Leighton, Room 107". Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A Digital Map). Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Artifact #VII, Tsugaru Nuri x Ini Archibong". Craft x Tech. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  17. Watkins, John (1876–1881). "Prince Consort Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  18. "Behind the Curtain: Francis Hamel in Residence". Victoria and Albert Museum . 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  19. "Projects". Francis Hamel . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  20. "The Art of Music in the Digital Age: a series of world-first designs, Prince Consort Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  21. "V&A hold Exhibition on Beatie Wolfe". Beatie Wolfe . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  22. Rodgers, Barry (19 September 2017). "Designer Flynn Talbot turns V&A Museum into a cathedral of light". Architectural Digest India . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  23. Frearson, Amy (15 September 2017). "Flynn Talbot transforms V&A's former textile room into colourful hall of light". Dezeen . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  24. Tucker, Emma (11 September 2017). "10 must-see London Design Festival installations". The Spaces. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  25. 1 2 Zemler, Emily (27 July 2024). "Inside Taylor Swift's Massive New Costume Exhibit". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  26. 1 2 Snapes, Laura (24 July 2024). "'She could have lived in these galleries to create the music': Taylor Swift in among the V&A permanent collection". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Diverse forms of expression take centre-stage at the V&A". London Design Festival . 30 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  28. Sobti, Sakhi (18 September 2023). "'Unstruck Melody' at London Design Festival 2023 explores the wisdom of 'Sikhi'". StirWorld. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  29. Roche, Daniel Jonas (3 July 2024). "An exhibition about Taylor Swift designed by Tom Piper is taking over London's V&A Museum". The Architect's Newspaper . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  30. "London Design Festival: Affinity in Autonomy; The Prince Consort Gallery, V&A". Sony . 26 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  31. "Affinity in Autonomy, Prince Consort Gallery". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  32. Han, Gregory (2 September 2019). "Artificial Intelligence Swings Into Motion at London's V&A Museum's 'Affinity in Autonomy'". Design Milk. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  33. "Unstruck Melody, Prince Consort Gallery, V&A South Kensington". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  34. "Unstruck Melody, Nirbhai (Nep) Singh Sidhu". without SHAPE without FORM. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  35. Zeitoun, Lea (16 September 2024). "ini archibong, studio swine, and others team up with japanese artisans for craft x tech show". Designboom . Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  36. "Craft x Tech – Unifying Japanese Craft and Contemporary Technology". Craft x Tech. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  37. 1 2 "Craft x Tech Tohoku Project; An initiative to unify traditional Japanese craft and contemporary technology". Victoria and Albert Museum . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  38. Seth, Radhika (27 July 2024). "All The Easter Eggs To Look Out For At The V&A's New Taylor Swift Exhibition". British Vogue. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  39. Crosbie, Eve (28 July 2024). "A London museum has launched a Taylor Swift exhibition packed with iconic memorabilia. Check out all 13 installations and the Easter eggs to look out for". Business Insider . Retrieved 17 August 2025.