V&A East Museum is releasing tickets for its first landmark exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story – a multi-sensory celebration of the profound impact of Black artistry on British music, culture and beyond.
The exhibition brings together hidden stories of early legends and contemporary artists through objects from groundbreaking musician Winifred Atwell’s piano to the Nintendo Jme used for early music experiments, fashion worn by Little Simz, Seal, Dame Shirley Bassey and Skin and newly acquired photographs of Kemistry and Storm, Mis-Teeq, and Skepta.
A multi-sensory experience, the exhibition showcases over 200 objects – including 60 new acquisitions – from musical instruments to soundtracks, artworks, fashion, and personal belongings of world-famed artists.
Spanning over 125 years, the exhibition unveils the origins of multiple genres including, 2 tone, Brit funk, lovers rock, jungle, drum & bass, trip hop, UK garage, grime and more .
Divided into four powerful acts, the exhibition brings together an evocative sound experience and multimedia installations with over 200 objects from 1900 to today. Spanning fashion, photography, musical instruments and technology, personal writings, song sheets, sculpture, paintings and more, objects include over 60 newly acquired items to the V&A collection.
New acquisitions on display for the first time include clothing worn by Seal for his eponymous 1991 debut album, Eddie Otchere’s vivid photographs of drum & bass duo Kemistry and Storm, Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar that sparked her love of music, and the jacket that rapper and actor Nolay wore when filming Top Boy.
Jacqueline Springer, Curator of The Music Is Black: A British Story and Curator of Africa and Diaspora Performance at the V&A, said: “Music reflects and feeds emotions. It inspires, comforts, offends and entertains. It also awakens memory and punctuates our present. This exhibition provides another dimension in our celebration and understanding of how social and political histories are responded to by people and their cultures to provide the art we all enjoy. This exhibition speaks to modernity and long deep histories; of the legacies of identity and to the music that furnishes our collective and individual memories. We hope that visitors will emerge with a broader appreciation of Black British music makers, the enormous influence of Black musicality – internationally and domestically – and the legacy of the influence of the African diaspora.”
The exhibition includes a partnership with BBC Music and kicks off The Music Is Black Festival, a series of programming, displays and performances in collaboration with East Bank partners in summer 2026. Opening on Saturday 18th April and running until 3rd January 2027, tickets for students and those under 26 from £10. Full price from £20. Free for V&A Members.
