Young V&A
A free museum of art, design and performance for children and families, opened July 2023
This complete overhaul of the former Museum of Childhood in London’s Bethnal Green transformed it into “the world’s most joyful museum” – and a double award-winning one at that!
I edited all the interpretive text for the museum ahead of opening, including wall panels and labels for the 2000 objects, plus text for the hands-on and digital interactives.
Young V&A was designed not just for children, young people and families but with them - over 22,000 local schoolchildren, families and community members took part in co-design and co-curation sessions.
Aimed at 0-14 year-olds, the museum has three permanent galleries: Play, Imagine and Design; and a temporary exhibition gallery.
Curatorial team: Alex Newson, Will Newton, Sophie Sage, Kristian Volsing, Tanaya Basu de Sakar, Trish Roberts, Holly Tatham
Graphic design: Graphic Thought Facility (GTF)
Architects: De Matos Ryan and AOC Architecture
The welcome wall at the entrance to the museum
A display in 'Moving and Making' in the Play Gallery
A 'Play Heroes' display in the Play Gallery
The introduction to the Imagine Gallery
A jam-packed display in 'Adventure' in the Imagine Gallery
Joey the War Horse on display in the Imagine Gallery
Part of the 'Living Together' section in the Imagine Gallery
A display in 'Living Together' in the Imagine Gallery, with an infographic
The self-portrait interactive and some displays in 'This is Me' in the Imagine Gallery
Labels in 'The Living Room' in the Imagine Gallery
The introduction panel to the Design Gallery
A theme label, group label and object label in the Design gallery
The Hero Arm display in the Design Gallery
A sub-section panel in the Design Gallery
The 'Design gives us a voice' display in the Design Gallery
Part of 'The Factory' display in the Design Gallery