People are beginning to grow an increasing interest in visiting museums, and this has paved the way for innovative and stunning museums to be inaugurated all across the world. While visitors to a museum should exercise caution when exploring or studying pieces and materials, there aren’t many museums that allow—and welcome—loud expressions, emotions, and touching everything around them.
Located in Bethnal Green, East London, the Young V&A has carved out a unique niche for itself, not just for its one-of-a-kind inspirational approach but also for bagging the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year award, which is likened to the Oscars for public institutions in the UK!
Previously known as the Museum of Childhood, the Young V&A was fondly described by the judges as ‘truly inspirational’ when it won the award. Housing the largest collection of childhood objects in the UK, the Young V&A belongs to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A/VAM) family, the world’s biggest museum of decorative arts and design, founded in 1852.
The museum opened its doors to the public in July last year, but it had to undergo three years of renovation that cost approximately €15 million. Within just nine months of reopening, the museum has welcomed over 590,000 people – three times more than its predecessor in the same timeframe.
The Young V&A has achieved such a remarkable feat by reimagining what and how a museum should be. The Director of the Art Fund, Jenny Waldman, said, “It’s mind-blowing, a brilliant concept perfectly executed. It’s the world’s most joyful museum.”
The Young V&A prioritized its target audience and aligned all the pieces of the museum—starting from the interpretation and exhibitions to the building and collection itself—to attract young minds and enable them to explore their imagination. Creativity and play are crucial aspects of childhood, and the Young V&A has successfully conceptualized the idea of supporting and spreading imagination in young minds and hearts.
The museum houses three permanent galleries that are dedicated entirely to children. Named Play, Imagine, and Design, these galleries house more than 2,000 objects dating from 2,300 BC to the present day. The hands-on experiences include sensory landscapes, an open design studio, a story-telling stage, optical illusions, an interactive Minecraft installation, and a game design space, among many others. Everything in the museum reflects its 150-year-old history as the first museum in East London.
The museum also has a space for temporary exhibitions, one of which is Japan: Myths to Mango. This takes viewers on an epic journey across Japan’s history while exploring folklore and landscapes inspired by culture, design, and technology. The museum has also restored Grade II-listed architectural features, including Tower Hamlets’ first and only accredited Changing Places Toilet, which is fully accessible.
Within such a short period, the Young V&A has made a profound global impact that has powerfully articulated what museums can be for children. Vick Hope, one of the judges of the award and a broadcaster herself, shared, “I was inspired by the museum’s vision to become a space for the next generation to feel empowered and to imagine their future; a space that will cement museums as places they belong and feel welcome as they grow up, regardless of their background.”
Play is the only way a child is allowed to explore and express creativity. It shapes the entire personality and enables the child to discover himself. The Young V&A offers creative freedom for children and encourages their curiosity, inspiring a lifelong passion for arts, history, and learning. Helen Charman, the director of the museum, lauded the win. She said, “This win is a clarion call for the vital role of creativity, culture, and play in children’s lives when so many opportunities have been taken away through the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing under-investment in creative education nationally.”
This year’s Art Fund Museum of the Year award had some tough competition. The Young V&A was chosen from a shortlist of five other museums, including Dundee Contemporary Arts (Dundee), the National Portrait Gallery (London), Craven Museum (Skipton, North Yorkshire), and Manchester Museum (Manchester). While each of these museums was recognized with a prize of £15,000, the Young V&A was awarded the largest prize of its kind in the world at £120,000.
The museum’s director expressed that this money will be utilized to positively impact the community while also creating new cultural and playful learning experiences.
She conveyed, “We’ll be investing the prize money in founding a creative network and program for early years providers along the Thames Estuary, where a higher proportion of children live in low-income households than the England average.”
The Young V&A is specifically designed for kids, with a radical focus on creating an engaging museum experience that is empowering, playful, and centered on learning through play. However, it is still capable of unleashing creativity and piquing the brightest emotions of everyone, irrespective of age. This museum is a fitting testament to a brilliant concept that has been immaculately executed, establishing the benchmark and serving as an international beacon for what a children’s museum should be like!
