Introduction

The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. Our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators everywhere. We share a 5,000 year old story of creativity through exhibitions, events, educational programmes, digital experiences, conservation, research and an ever-evolving national collection of over 2.8 million objects spanning every creative discipline.

The V&A was the first national museum to create a dedicated Research Department. In 2016, thanks to a major transformational grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, we became the V&A Research Institute, and in 2021 we took on leadership of the National Art Library and Archives, with a remit to transform access to the V&A’s rich research collections and archival resources. Working with V&A colleagues and many external partners, we undertake collaborative research rooted in the V&A’s collections and practices.

Through our research and teaching collaborations, we inform Museum projects, policies and practices across the V&A family of sites, as well as contribute to new understandings of the histories we can tell through collections and the challenges that they may help us face, now and in the future.

For more information visit research.vam.ac.uk

Cover image: View across the Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse © Diller-Scofidio-Renfro