Women proudly wearing their diverse wigs
Heritage Grants
Brompton & Hans Town
Victoria & Albert Museum
£984000
“… a black culture event at the V&A increased my pride … I feel we are getting a sense of recognition.”
Participant, cited in project evaluation
Through new partnerships with diverse ethnic communities, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (V&A) sought to encourage cultural ownership of its collections and develop heritage skills for people within and outside the museum.
The V&A is the world’s largest museum of art and design and includes the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green. The museum sought to embed issues of cultural diversity across several aspects of its work, from research, collections and public programmes, to marketing and staff development.
Specific strands aimed to:
- uncover ‘hidden histories’ of the V&A’s collections of relevance to the African diaspora and to faith communities
- develop new collections which reflected the diverse backgrounds of London’s communities, in particular black and Asian UK theatre and childhood in East London
- encourage new, diverse audiences to access the V&A, increase intercultural understanding and contribute to social cohesion
- develop partnerships with ethnically diverse organisations and deliver training in heritage skills for and with these organisations and within the V&A
- contribute to long-term change within the V&A
