WHAT? The V&A East Storehouse

WHERE? 2 Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London E20 3AX

WHEN? Now and ongoing, open seven days a week. Free to view

WHY GO? To watch history unfold. This building is a modern architectural feat for a museum famed for preserving antiquities. Totally unique, it houses 250,000 objects that spill over from the V&A’s vast archive collections, previously stored in an Edwardian warehouse in west London.
The move East is where it’s at for growing numbers of big cultural names like Sadler’s Wells, whose new East theatre is now also open.
But nothing anywhere can equal this masterly creation—a work of art in itself. It is more than a storehouse: it is a cabinet of curiosities and a cultural hub for everyone.
From rarely displayed big exhibits like a dazzling 15th-century Spanish Palace Ceiling and Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office to weird and wonderful items like a stuffed turtle and Samurai sword, it is an Aladdin’s cave.
Anyone can book objects out to view up close or watch the conservators at work. It is all about fostering knowledge.
When the ‘order an object’ online service opened, appointments to view over 1,000 objects were immediately booked. A pink Balenciaga dress, circa 1954, has been the most popular so far—hardly surprising, as the London College of Fashion is a neighbour!
Allow time to explore, wear soft shoes to navigate the open stairs, and be prepared to be blown away by rows upon rows of unbelievable treasures.

IN THE KNOW Catalogued as the largest Picasso work in the world, a stage cloth painted by Prince Alexander Schervashidze—but signed by Picasso himself—is a showstopper. It hangs in a room of its own, offering visitors a reflective moment to imagine it as it was created for the Ballets Russes production of Le Train Bleu in 1924.
Epic stage artworks will be periodically rotated now that there is space to accommodate them.