Labour MP Tristram Hunt to be the new director of the V&A
Tristram Hunt takes on a new challenge as director of the Victoria & Albert museum
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As the Labour MP, Tristram Hunt, is swapping politics for The Victoria & Albert Museum, we chart five of the future exhibitions at the museum.
News broke this morning that Tristram Hunt is to be the new director of South Kensington’s Victoria & Albert Museum, swapping politics for art and culture. This move will trigger a by-election in Stoke on Trent Central, Hunt’s constituency.
Although an unexpected change in career, Hunt is somewhat of a renaissance man and a respected historian and lecturer at The University of London colleges. Announcing the appointment, V&A Chairman Nicholas Coleridge said:
‘On behalf of the Trustees, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Tristram Hunt as Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has a highly compelling mixture of experience across public life, the arts, history, education and academia, and knows our collections well from his writing and broadcasting. In addition, he is an informed and articulate leader and communicator on numerous facets of culture, both historic and contemporary, and I greatly look forward to working with him at the V&A.’
V&A – Flickr xiquinhosilva Sept 2015
After this news, we look ahead at the V&A‘s future exhibitions.
Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion
This exhibition will chart the exquisite craftsmanship and influence of the fames haute couture designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. This will be the first UK exhibition of Balenciaga’s work and will mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the fashion house. 27 May-18 Feb.
Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London
This major exhibition will explore the role and impact of Lockwood Kipling Art and Crafts movement figure. The exhibition opens tomorrow, and is the fourth in a series of major research collaborations between the Bard Graduate Center in New York and the V&A. 14 Jan-2 April.
The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains
The museum’s major spring exhibition sets out to mark 50 years since the band released their first single. The V&A says the exhibition will be ‘a story of sound, design and performance, the exhibition will chronicle the music, iconic visuals and staging of the band, from the underground psychedelic scene in 1960s London to the present day, illustrating their groundbreaking use of special effects, sonic experimentation, powerful imagery and social commentary’. 13 May-1 Oct.
Plywood
Yes, you read that correctly. This exhibition on the industrial and domestic material will be the first of it’s kind and will examine its innovative uses in aircrafts, furniture, architecture and graphic design. 15 July-12 Nov.
Opera: Passion, Power and Politics
The V&A has teamed up with the Royal Opera House to create an immersive journey throughout the world of opera, its history and influence today. The exhibition will reflect the ways in which opera has reflected the cultural times throughout history. 20 Sept-15 Feb 18.
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