Hands-On Experience with Hidden Artifacts at V&A East Storehouse

Most museums have a strict rule: No touching. However, at the V&A East Storehouse in London, visitors get the unique opportunity to handle artifacts that are typically out of reach.

Every day, members of the public interact with items such as vintage garments, modern design objects, and ancient musical instruments. The Storehouse opened a year ago as a solution to limited display space at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s main site in West London. It serves as a storage facility for over 400,000 items, including artworks, antique furniture, and suits of armor.

“Instead of a simple storage facility, the museum opted to provide ‘radical access’ to its collections,” said Kate Parsons, the V&A’s director of conservation, collections care, and access.

At the Storehouse, visitors can explore aisles filled with items on shelves. Additionally, the unique ‘Order an Object’ service allows them to book personal time with specific artifacts. Conservators have inspected each item to determine its safety for handling. Delicate items are either laid out for close-up viewing or visitors are directed to objects suitable for handling.

Images from the V&A East Storehouse show over 400,000 items not currently displayed at the main site.

Items include a 19th-century bust from the V&A’s collection and “Virgin and Child with Five Angels,” from around 1450.