Young V&A

Last updated

Young V&A
V&A Museum of Childhood.jpg
Tower Hamlets London UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Established1872;152 years ago (1872)
Location Bethnal Green
London, E2
United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°31′44″N0°03′18″W / 51.529°N 0.055°W / 51.529; -0.055
Visitors386,944 (2019) [1]
DirectorDr Helen Charman
Public transit access Underground no-text.svg Bethnal Green
Overground roundel (no text).svg Cambridge Heath
Website www.vam.ac.uk/info/young OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Listed Building – Grade II*
Designated27 September 1973
Reference no. 1357777
Area1.5 acres (6,100 m2), 145 galleries

Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts. It is in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, and specialises in objects by and for children. In 2024 it was awarded the Museum of the Year prize. [2]

Contents

History

London Museum Site Act 1868
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Long title An Act to provide for the Acquisition of a Site for a Museum in the East of London.
Citation 31 & 32 Vict. c. 8
Dates
Royal assent 28 February 1868
The official opening of the Bethnal Green Museum by the Prince of Wales in 1872. Opening of the Bethnal Green Museum 1872 ILN.jpg
The official opening of the Bethnal Green Museum by the Prince of Wales in 1872.

The museum was founded in 1872 [3] as the Bethnal Green Museum. However, the iron structure was a prefabricated building originally constructed at Albertopolis, South Kensington in 1856-7, which was displaced by the construction of early phases of the present V&A complex. The exterior elevations of the building were designed by James William Wild [4] in red brick in a Rundbogenstil (round-arched) style very similar to that in contemporary Germany and using a cast iron structure manufactured by Charles Denoon Young and Company. The similarity to contemporary industrial stuctures led to the disparaging name of the building as the 'Brompton Boilers'. [5] This is effect is modified by mosaic panels along both long elevations illustrating agriculture, the arts and sciences; these were from designs by F.W. Moody and made by female students of the South Kensington Museum mosaic class. [5]

In Bethnal Green, the building was used to display a variety of collections at different times. In the 19th century, it contained food and animal products, and various pieces of art including the works which can now be seen at the Wallace Collection. [6] It was remodelled as an art museum following World War I, with a children's section which subsequently grew in size.

For many years some of the collection of the V&A's scultures by Auguste Rodin, including those donated by the artist, were exhibited at Bethnal Green, alongside childhood-related dispays. [7]

A white painted iron statue cast by John Bell in 1851, was displayed at Bethnal Green from 1927 to 2017. [4] It came originally from the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Eagle slayer shows a marksman shooting at an eagle which has slain the lamb that lies at his feet. This is now on long-term loan to the Coalbrookdale Museum since it was cast in the Coalbrookdale Foundry.

The museum is a Grade II* listed building. [8]

Recent History

Young V&A has the largest collection of childhood related objects in the United Kingdom. In 1974 the director of the V&A, Sir Roy Strong, defined it as a specialist museum, re-displayed as The Museum of Childhood. [4]

The mission of the museum today is stated as "To enable everyone, especially the young, to explore and enjoy the designed world, in particular objects made for and made by children." It has extensive collections of toys, childhood equipment and costumes, and stages a programme of temporary exhibitions.

The museum closed in October 2003 for extensive renovations of the roof structure, re-display of the collections, construction of learning centre at lower ground floor and the creation of a new entrance, costing £4.7 million. The entrance was designed by Caruso St John Architects 'patterned elevations of red quartzite and brown porphyries, to gives the Museum the formal front and outward aspect that it previously lacked'. [9] It reopened in December 2006. [6]

In 2019 a further transformation of the museum began. "Over 30,000 objects which had been on display or in storage at the museum" were audited and packed. [10] After temporary storage at South Kensington, they were to join the rest of the V&A East Museum at Stratford Waterfront "in a few years time". [11]

The museum's reopened on 1 July 2023. [12] In June 2023, museum director Tristram Hunt instructed the removal of two books on gender and sexual orientation and a poster from the charity Stonewall that read "Some people are trans, get over it!", from the museum ahead of its reopening. [13] The V&A Staff LGBTQ Working Group and trade unions PCS and Prospect opposed the removals. Union representatives appealed the decision in a meeting with Hunt, who rejected their request to have the items returned to the museum. [13] [14] [15] [16]

Transport connections

ServiceStation/StopStop LetterLines/Routes servedDistance from
V&A
Museum of Childhood
London Buses Buses roundel (no text).svg Bethnal Green Station Wheelchair symbol.svg Stop A 106, 254, 309, 388, D3, D6
Stop B 8, 309, D6
Stop D 8, 388, D3
Old Ford Road Wheelchair symbol.svg Stop G 106, 254, 388, D6
London Underground Underground no-text.svg Bethnal Green Central line flag box.svg
London Overground Overground roundel (no text).svg Cambridge Heath London Overground 400 metres walk [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auguste Rodin</span> French sculptor (1840–1917)

François Auguste René Rodin was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, and deeply pocketed surface in clay. He is known for such sculptures as The Thinker, Monument to Balzac, The Kiss, The Burghers of Calais, and The Gates of Hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rijksmuseum</span> National museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Concertgebouw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria and Albert Museum</span> Art museum in London, England

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Science Museum, London</span> Museum in Kensington, London

The Science Museum is a major museum on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London. It was founded in 1857 and is one of the city's major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pergamon Museum</span> Museum in Berlin, Germany

The Pergamon Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II and according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Classicism style. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Pergamon Museum was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its architecture and testimony to the evolution of museums as architectural and social phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philadelphia Museum of Art</span> Art museum in Pennsylvania, United States

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Eakins Oval. The museum administers collections containing over 240,000 objects including major holdings of European, American and Asian origin. The various classes of artwork include sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armor, and decorative arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Transport Museum</span> Transport museum in Covent Garden, London

The London Transport Museum (LTM) is a transport museum based in Covent Garden, London. The museum predominantly hosts exhibits relating to the heritage of London's transport, as well as conserving and explaining the history of it. The majority of the museum's exhibits originated in the collections of London Transport, but, since the creation of Transport for London (TfL) in 2000, the remit of the museum has expanded to cover all aspects of transport in the city and in some instances beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Museum</span> Local museum in Berkshire, UK

Reading Museum is a museum of the history of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire, and the surrounding area. It is accommodated within Reading Town Hall, and contains galleries describing the history of Reading and its related industries, a gallery of artefacts discovered during the excavations of Calleva Atrebatum, a copy of the Bayeux Tapestry, finds relating to Reading Abbey and an art collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayswater Road</span> Road in west London, running along the northern boundary of Hyde Park

Bayswater Road is the main road running along the northern edge of Hyde Park in London. Originally part of the A40 road, it is now designated part of the A402 road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waterlow Park</span> Park in Highgate, London, England

Waterlow Park is a 26-acre (11 ha) park in the south east of Highgate Village, in north London. It was given to the public by Sir Sydney Waterlow, as "a garden for the gardenless" in 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr Johnson's House</span>

Dr Johnson's House is a writer's house museum in London in the former home of the 18th-century English writer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson. The house is a Grade I listed building.

The Showroom is a not-for-profit art gallery in Marylebone, London, which displays site-specific works by emerging artists. The gallery presents four shows each year, a schedule that allows artists the time to develop and realise their work on site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodin Museum</span> Art museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Rodin Museum is an art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that contains one of the largest collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris. Opened in 1929, the museum is administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The museum houses a collection of nearly 150 objects containing bronzes, marbles, and plasters by Rodin.

The Science and Innovation Park is a research and cultural site near Swindon, England. Part of the Science Museum Group, the 545 acres (221 ha) Park hosts a range of research and development activity, filming and photography projects, storage for culture sector partners and other commercial activity. It is the home of the Science Museum Group's National Collections Centre, which holds around 80% of the group's collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York Art Gallery</span> Public art gallery in England

York Art Gallery is a public art gallery in York, England, with a collection of paintings from 14th-century to contemporary, prints, watercolours, drawings, and ceramics. It closed for major redevelopment in 2013, reopening in summer of 2015. The building is a Grade II listed building and is managed by York Museums Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bell (sculptor)</span> British sculptor

John Bell (1812–1895) was a British sculptor, born in Bell's Row, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His family home was Hopton Hall, Suffolk. His works were shown at the Great Exhibition of 1851, and he was responsible for the marble group representing "America" on the Albert Memorial in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantor Arts Center</span> Art museum in Stanford, California

Cantor Arts Center is an art museum on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States.

The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857. It remains the largest art exhibition to be held in the UK, possibly in the world, with over 16,000 works on display. It attracted over 1.3 million visitors in the 142 days it was open, about four times the population of Manchester at that time, many of whom visited on organised railway excursions. Its selection and display of artworks had a formative influence on the public art collections that were then being established in the UK, such as the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James William Wild</span>

James William Wild was a British architect. Initially working in the Gothic style, he later employed round-arched forms. He spent several years in Egypt. He acted as decorative architect to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and designed the Grimsby Dock Tower, completed in 1852. After a considerable break in his career he worked on designs for the South Kensington Museum, and designed the British embassy in Tehran. He was curator of the Sir John Soane's Museum from 1878 until his death in 1892.

Henry Louis Florence was a British architect, arts benefactor and member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), of which he was also vice-president (1897-1899) and Fellow of the Geological Society. He was a member of the Junior Athenaeum and The Arts Club. He also served in the Rifle Volunteers from 1871 to 1892, retiring from it with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

References

Citations

  1. "ALVA – Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". www.alva.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  2. Young V&A named Art Fund's 2024 Museum of the Year. Museums + Heritage. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  3. "V&A Reopens Its Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green | Culture24". Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Weinreb et al. 2008, p. 65.
  5. 1 2 "BETHNAL GREEN MUSEUM, Non Civil Parish - 1357777 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
  6. 1 2 "Much more than a doll's house". The Guardian. 10 December 2006. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  7. "The Rodin Gift to the V&A · V&A". Victoria and Albert Museum.
  8. Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1357777)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  9. "V&A Museum of Childhood". Caruso St John Architects. 19 November 2019.
  10. Young V&A: transforming the building Archived 18 July 2022 at the Wayback Machine , vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  11. Moving House: Decant of the Museum of Childhood Stores Archived 22 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine , vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  12. Rufo, Yasmin (26 June 2023). "Young V&A museum opening after £13m revamp". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  13. 1 2 "EXCLUSIVE: Young V&A removes trans poster and LGBTQ+ books". ArtsProfessional. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  14. Stephens, Max (6 July 2023). "Young V&A museum removes 'age inappropriate' LGBT books". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  15. "Young V&A criticised for removing trans poster". 7 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  16. "Author 'beyond angry' as London children's museum removes trans and queer books". 4 July 2023. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  17. Google Maps Archived 22 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine Walking directions to V&A Museum of Childhood from Cambridge Heath (London) railway station

Sources