Remember the denouement of Citizen Kane?
A cavernous warehouse stacked with seemingly endless crates and pallets, and groaning with worldly treasures. This is the first thing that comes to mind when visiting V&A East Storehouse, the V&A's latest museum based on Hackney's 'East Bank', which now has an official open date of 31 May 2025. It is no exaggeration to say that this place will redefine what a museum can be.
A four-level complex measuring 16,000m2 bristles with over a quarter of a million objects, most of which have until now been brooding unappreciated in storage. You walk over a glass floor, beneath which glimmers the inlaid marble of the 17th century Agra Colonnade. Look up to see two concrete chunks from the Robin Hood Gardens hovering over your head. Other long-time acquisitions that've been too hefty to display until now include the exquisitely carved and gilded wooden ceiling from the Torrijos Palace in Spain, and the only complete Frank Lloyd Wright interior outside the US.
This place is like a Costco for antique dealers; all around you, mid-century chair legs poke teasingly out of the bottom dust sheets, while the necks of antique vases peek out from crates. Stashed away somewhere unseen on our brief visit are vintage football shirts, a Glastonbury Festival Archive, a chunk of Elton John's wardrobe, Roman frescoes and iPhones. The word 'eclectic' hardly does it all justice.
The self-guided warehouse tour, which will be free for all visitors, is just one aspect of the V&A East Storehouse experience. Other features include:
💻 Order an Object: Anyone can book any V&A East Storehouse object to get a closer look at it. The service will be free, operating seven days a week. (Before you ask, no you won't be able to take said object home, double no if it's a samurai sword.)
🖼️ Over 100 mini curated displays including acquisitions from various fashion designers, artists and photographers.
👀 Four conservation studios, which can be viewed in action by the public through glass.
⚡ A dedicated David Bowie Centre (opening 13 September 2025) crammed with a staggering 90,000 pieces — costumes, hand-written lyrics, instruments etc — related to the Starman.
Incredibly, V&A East Storehouse is just one half of what the V&A's got in the works in east London. It'll be followed in 2026 with V&A East Museum, which will celebrate "making and creativity's power to bring change."
In the meantime, you'll have plenty to be getting on with from next summer. There must be a Rosebud in among that lot somewhere...
V&A East Storehouse, opens Saturday 31 May 2025
