ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 RUNNING HEAD V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 Contents 4 A year in snapshot 8 Chairman’s foreword 10 Director’s foreword 12 Exhibitions and displays 18 A new future in east London 20 V&A Museum of Childhood reimagined 22 Welcome to Dundee 24 The national picture Right: The Ruddock Family Cast Court, Room 46a. © Victoria and Albert 28 Cutting-edge research Museum, London Cover: V&A Dundee. © Hufton+Crow 30 A world-class learning experience Page 5: HRH the Duchess of Cambridge opening the V&A 32 Acquisitions Photography Centre, 2018. © Jack Hill/Pool via Reuters Page 6: Dan Vo. © Theo Cottle 38 International Page 7: David Bowie Is installation view. © Jonathan Dorado, 40 Financial Review Brooklyn Museum All images © Victoria and Albert Museum, London, unless 41 Support otherwise stated V&A Annual Review 2018-19 is published by Cultureshock Media on behalf of the Victoria and Albert Museum. © Victoria and Albert Museum 2019 While every effort has been made to identify copyright holders and supporters, some omissions may occur 2 3 V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 A YEAR IN SNAPSHOT Transformational plans for V&A Museum of Childhood unveiled Ambitious plans to transform the much- Vision for V&A East revealed loved Bethnal Green institution into a A collection and research centre offering unprecedented behind the scenes access world-leading design museum for children, to V&A collections and a new museum featuring a world-first partnership with the families and young people are unveiled Smithsonian Institution are announced, set to open 2023 Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up is extended due to popular demand The exhibition offers new insight into the life and work of the celebrated Mexican HRH The Duchess of artist, featuring over 200 objects from Kahlo’s personal archive exhibited outside Cambridge becomes Mexico for the first time Royal Patron to the V&A Cast Courts reopen with new access into Trajan’s Column The V&A’s full-scale replica of Trajan’s First phase of the Photography Centre opens V&A display commemorates Column opens permanently to the public, Display space dedicated to photography doubles – the new suite of galleries features V&A Dundee opens the final part of a five-year FuturePlan Maqdala 1868 over 600 objects telling the story of the medium, from daguerreotype to digital. The V&A Scotland’s first design museum exceeds its first-year visitor predictions in just six months, project to restore the iconic galleries to The display prompts a timely conversation continued to acquire landmark photographs for its collection including its first digital-born welcoming over 500,000 people their Victorian glory about objects with contested heritage commission by Penelope Umbrico and a major series Off-Pointe by Mary McCartney 4 5 A YEAR IN SNAPSHOT V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 Recognition for V&A Staff Dan Vo wins the Museums Change #WeWantQuant campaign prompts 35 acquisitions Lives Radical Changemaker Award for Tickets sell out in 19 days Jameel Prize celebrates 10th year Over 1,000 people respond to a public call-out to track down rare garments by Mary Quant, establishing tours exploring LGBTQ-related Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams joins the The exhibition, which celebrates contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition, resulting in a section of the exhibition dedicated to personal stories, and 35 acquisitions objects in the V&A’s collection V&A’s most popular exhibitions tours to the Jameel Art Centre in Dubai Sustainability awards for Fashioned from Nature The V&A won both the Creative Green’s Creative Programming Award and the Videogames: Design/ Play/ Walpole Group’s Luxury with a Heart Disrupt achieves critical acclaim Award, awarded to an “institution or The V&A held the first exhibition individual that has consistently dedicated celebrating videogames as one of the Two million visit David Bowie Is Busiest day on record at V&A Museum of Childhood themselves to making the world a most important design fields of our time A record for a V&A touring exhibition, achieved during the 12th stop on its world tour An event celebrating Chinese New Year welcomes 5,195 people better place” 6 7 V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 Chairman’s foreword This was a second exceptionally strong year in a row for visitors to the museum. More than 4.8 million people passed through our doors across several sites, and we feel immensely proud to be one of the world’s top 10 most-visited art museums. At the same time, we have been stimulated by a succession of new openings: nine months after the opening of the V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shekou, V&A Dundee opened on the banks of the Tay to widespread acclaim. The official opening was made by our Patron HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge. Visitor numbers have wildly exceeded those forecast, and the museum has played a prominent part in the regeneration of the city. In London, it has been a year of notable exhibitions – Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, Videogames: Design/Play/ Disrupt and A Pirate’s Life for Me are just four which drew the crowds. And David Bowie Is completed its 12-venue world tour with a hugely successful run at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City. In total, it was enjoyed by over 2 million visitors. Meanwhile, we are gearing up for a reimagined V&A Museum of Childhood, with a major refit to take east London’s first museum to even greater heights. And we continue to plan V&A East, with a new museum in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, as well as a vast new collection and research centre, which promises to take collections storage and open-access to a new level, something entirely unique for the UK. More than half the population of London now lives east of Tower Bridge, so it is exciting to bring the public programme, values and educational remit of our institution to a new, ever-expanding audience. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank our many generous philanthropists, supporters and donors and our V&A Members who have supported our efforts so handsomely across the year. I would also like to congratulate the Director of the museum, Dr Tristram Hunt, upon his second very successful year at the V&A, and all the staff and volunteers for their endless efforts to keep the museum exciting, relevant, scholarly and respected. NICHOLAS COLERIDGE CBE CHAIRMAN, V&A The V&A Exhibition Road Quarter. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 9 V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 Director’s foreword This year marks the bicentenary of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s births, and there could therefore not be a more appropriate moment to reflect on the founding principles of the museum, and to consider how the V&A’s activities today continue to realise Albert’s pioneering vision. Prince Albert was the instigator of the 1851 “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations”, which provided the initial funds and collections for the museum that would come to bear his name. His ambition was to highlight innovation and design from around the world, a calling which he shared with the V&A’s first Director Henry Cole. Both Albert and Cole were passionate about improving education for the nation, affording British artists, designers and craftspeople the opportunity to be inspired by objects drawn from different cultures, peoples and practices. With the opening of the first phase of our Photography Centre last year, and the conclusion of the Cast Courts refurbishment in December, we have tapped into these founding principles and reimagined them for today’s audiences. Today, the V&A’s civic mission goes far beyond London, with the opening of V&A Dundee bringing the V&A and its collections to new audiences in Tayside. Last year we also unveiled plans for an exciting major redevelopment of the V&A Museum of Childhood, which will transform the museum into a world-leading centre of design and creativity for children, families and young people. And our DesignLab Nation programme of loans and partnerships with regional museums continues to grow and expand to new venues, as part of our efforts to support the teaching of the Design and Technology curriculum around the UK. At South Kensington, we have also been reflecting on the changing history and meaning of some of our collections. In April 2018 we opened Maqdala 1868, a free display which examines the uncomfortable past behind a collection of Ethiopian objects, taken in the 19th century by British troops, which are now part of the V&A collection. As we expand into the future, we must also keep track of just how fast the past is changing. Prince Albert conceived of a museum which would be at the forefront of design education and cultural collaboration. As we roll out our programme of celebrations for his bicentenary year, we are proud that his vision remains at the heart of the V&A today. DR TRISTRAM HUNT DIRECTOR, V&A The Bern and Ronny Schwartz Gallery, Room 100, V&A Photography Centre. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 11 V&A ANNUAL REVIEW 2018-19 EXHIBITIONS Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic 9 December 2017-8 April 2018 2018-19 Supported by the Unwin Charitable Trust This multi-sensory and playful exhibition explored the magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh – one of the most adored fictional characters of all time.