V&A East announces opening date for The Music is Black: A British Story
29 Jan 2026
A new exhibition, ‘The Music is Black: A British Story’, will be opening at the V&A East Museum on Saturday 18 April 2026, on East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This multisensory exhibition explores the profound impact of Black artistry on British music, culture and beyond.
The Music is Black: A British Story aims to trace the roots of music from African musical practices to the present day, showing how they have influenced and transformed British identity over the past 125 years. Shaped by British colonialism, transatlantic enslavement, migration and innovation, the sound of music has changed over this extended period and this exhibition celebrates the overarching themes of resilience, creativity and joy. It reveals how British-born Black music genres – from lovers rock and Brit funk, to 2 tone, jungle, drum & bass, trip hop, UK garage, grime and beyond – have inspired and impacted lives across the UK and around the world.
Jacqueline Springer, Curator of The Music Is Black: A British Story and Curator of Africa and Diaspora Performance at the V&A, states:
“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.”
Gus Casely-Hayford, V&A East Director, added:
“We’ve created V&A East Museum as a hub for collaboration, creativity and celebration, and our first exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, is the embodiment of this. Expertly curated by Jacqueline Springer and team, this is an important story, not just for Britain and British music, but for Black artistry globally, and it’s an honour to spotlight this in east London, home to the creation of some of the most exciting musical genres and performances. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with BBC Music, as well as our East Bank partners on the programming for The Music is Black Festival, inspired by this exhibition. My thanks go to our supporters, Ford Foundation, the Huo Family Foundation, GRoW @ Annenberg, and Sennheiser in helping make this a reality. We can’t wait to welcome everyone to V&A East Museum this April.”