Gus Casely-Hayford's Vision for V&A East: A Museum for Gen Z
For Gus Casely-Hayford, his sister Margaret's words at the British Museum when he was a child sparked a lifelong mission to make museums more inclusive and accessible. Now, as the director of V&A East, a new museum in London's Olympic Park, he is building a space where young people can come and have transformative moments that change the trajectory of their lives.
The V&A Storehouse has already exceeded its visitor target in just over a quarter of the projected time, and the permanent collection at V&A East, called Why We Make, features 500 objects from over 200 practitioners across more than 60 nations. The aim is to open up the V&A's collection in new ways to audiences that have historically been underserved by major cultural institutions.
Casely-Hayford has personally visited every single secondary school in the four boroughs surrounding the site and consulted with over 30,000 young people, influencing every aspect of the institution. The staffing of the project also reflects the demographic complexity of the area, embedding V&A East in local communities and making it a space that belongs to them.
The collection is diverse, with objects that tell the story of human creativity through various mediums. One example is a piece by Bisila Noah, an Ecuadorian Guinea Spanish ceramicist, described as "absolutely exquisite" by Casely-Hayford. Local designer Molly Goddard's pink dress will also be on display.
Temporary exhibitions are also planned, including The Music Is Black, which explores 125 years of Black British music history and features artists such as Shirley Bassey, Seal, Stormzy, and Little Simz. The exhibition is a key part of the museum's aim to engage young people with the arts.
Casely-Hayford has faced challenges in his career, including working at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, where he witnessed the persecution of his former colleagues' work under Trump. However, he remains optimistic about the potential for museums to make change.
V&A East is Casely-Hayford's greatest project yet, aiming to fulfill his lifelong mission to make these institutions universally accessible. The arts are a way to connect with others and create something that can outlast us, and museums are repositories of humanity's finest creative impulses.
For Gus Casely-Hayford, his sister Margaret's words at the British Museum when he was a child sparked a lifelong mission to make museums more inclusive and accessible. Now, as the director of V&A East, a new museum in London's Olympic Park, he is building a space where young people can come and have transformative moments that change the trajectory of their lives.
The V&A Storehouse has already exceeded its visitor target in just over a quarter of the projected time, and the permanent collection at V&A East, called Why We Make, features 500 objects from over 200 practitioners across more than 60 nations. The aim is to open up the V&A's collection in new ways to audiences that have historically been underserved by major cultural institutions.
Casely-Hayford has personally visited every single secondary school in the four boroughs surrounding the site and consulted with over 30,000 young people, influencing every aspect of the institution. The staffing of the project also reflects the demographic complexity of the area, embedding V&A East in local communities and making it a space that belongs to them.
The collection is diverse, with objects that tell the story of human creativity through various mediums. One example is a piece by Bisila Noah, an Ecuadorian Guinea Spanish ceramicist, described as "absolutely exquisite" by Casely-Hayford. Local designer Molly Goddard's pink dress will also be on display.
Temporary exhibitions are also planned, including The Music Is Black, which explores 125 years of Black British music history and features artists such as Shirley Bassey, Seal, Stormzy, and Little Simz. The exhibition is a key part of the museum's aim to engage young people with the arts.
Casely-Hayford has faced challenges in his career, including working at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington DC, where he witnessed the persecution of his former colleagues' work under Trump. However, he remains optimistic about the potential for museums to make change.
V&A East is Casely-Hayford's greatest project yet, aiming to fulfill his lifelong mission to make these institutions universally accessible. The arts are a way to connect with others and create something that can outlast us, and museums are repositories of humanity's finest creative impulses.
I think its kinda cool how V&A East is trying to be more inclusive and stuff. Like, they're featuring all this diverse art from different countries and cultures, and its not just for old people or whatever 
. Gus Casely-Hayford seems like a pretty cool dude too, he's all about listening to young people and making museums their space too 
. The fact that they've already exceeded visitor targets in less than 3 months is also super impressive 
!
! It's so awesome that they're making it super inclusive for Gen Z and featuring objects from over 60 nations - talk about diversity and representation 
! And I'm excited to see the collection grow with more pieces by talented artists like Bisila Noah 
. The fact that Casely-Hayford has been working directly with young people from the local community is genius - it's all about making museums a space for everyone, not just the elite 
. And can we talk about the temporary exhibitions? Music Is Black sounds incredible! 
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for Gen Z. And the fact that they're trying to make museums more inclusive and accessible is so important 
!
they've already got the storehouse exceeding visitor targets, and the collection is literally from all over the world 
and i love how casely-hayford has consulted with 30k young people to make sure the museum belongs to them too 
and creating a space that belongs to them 
the collection is so diverse and I'm obsessed with the idea of The Music Is Black exhibition 
can't wait to see it!
This new V&A East museum is definitely going to spark some creativity in young people! I love how they're making museums more inclusive and accessible for Gen Z. It's amazing that the director has personally visited so many schools and consulted with over 30,000 young people to make sure this space belongs to them. This project is a great example of how the arts can bring people together and create something beautiful 
museums rnt just about old rich people no more 
v&a east is tryin but lets be real its gonna take a lot 2 get the youth on board esp w/ all the other stuff goin on in london rn 
cant just expect ppl 2 care bout art wen they hav more pressing issues 2 deal w/ 
I'm so over how V&A East is just another example of a "museum for Gen Z" that's only going to cater to the interests of young people who already have access to art and culture. What about the older generation? 
They're not exactly flooding social media with their opinions on museum exhibits, but they still deserve representation. And what's with all these temporary exhibitions? Won't they just get lost in the sea of events at V&A East? I mean, I love Stormzy as much as the next person, but can't we have some more low-key exhibitions that'll actually appeal to a wider audience?