What’s on at the V&A in 2026
- maxwell museums
- Jan 22, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 3
It's the world's leading museum of art, design and performance. So it's no wonder you want to find out what's on at the V&A in 2026.
The museum's exhibitions you can visit right now include a hugely popular Schiaparelli fashion show. For those looking ahead, there's an upcoming blockbuster display on the history of Istanbul. And with the South Kensington-located venue offering some of the most eclectic subject ranges under one roof in the whole of London, it always draws big crowds.
While recent years have seen a somewhat slimmed-down exhibition programme — in-part because the fashion gallery is closed for a Burberry-funded refurb — there’s still a varied choice of topics to see.
With this guide being updated in June 2026 to cover everything that's been announced so far, here's the exhibitions you can see in 2026 at the V&A.
Quick links to the 2026 V&A exhibitions:
V&A museum exhibitions open now
These exhibitions at the V&A in South Kensington are open right now. Pre-booking your tickets in advance is recommended.
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
This is the first exhibition ever staged in the UK devoted to the Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, and it spans her entire career. Visitors will go from the first groundbreaking designs by Schiaparelli herself, through to the major fashion house’s present-day incarnation in the hands of its creative director, Daniel Roseberry.
Over 400 objects are on show, including 100 ensembles alongside accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, furniture, perfumes and archive material. Art lovers can also enjoy works by Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Eileen Agar, as well as Schiaparelli's numerous collaborative creations with Salvador Dalí, including their only surviving Skeleton dress from 1938.
The Guardian calls it a "lavish spring show [that] is a weird and wonderful tumble down the rabbit hole that is Schiaparelli."
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art runs until 08 November 2026
Lost Music Venues
Music venues are being lost in Britain at an alarming rate, and this free display is highlighting those that have already called time. Around 50 former UK venues are spotlighted, including icons such as Madame Jojo's in London's Soho, and Manchester's Haçienda. Some venues get immersive recreations here.
Visitors will see over 100 objects ranging from gig flyers to club outfits — and over half of the items on display came to the V&A’s collection via a call out to the public for donations. Highlights include handwritten Oasis lyrics from their tour bus, a Blur set list from a career-defining set of performances, and Mark Webber’s briefcase from his stint as Pulp’s tour manager.
Lost Music Venues runs until 30 October 2027
Rising Voices: Contemporary art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific
Work by 40 leading artists from 25 countries features in this landmark collaboration between the V&A and the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), in Brisbane, Australia. Visitors are promised an unparalleled view of the region's dynamic creative landscape.
More than 70 works are on show, many of which have never been exhibited in Europe before. They're shown across three thematic sections, and there's a particular emphasis on First Nations perspectives and diverse artistic approaches. The V&A's Director of Exhibitions Daniel Slater, says the artworks "speak to histories and perspectives that are essential to a fuller understanding of our shared contemporary world."
Rising Voices: Contemporary art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific runs until 10 January 2027
Upcoming V&A exhibitions
Here's a full list of the V&A's upcoming exhibitions that have been publicly announced. More will be added as they are revealed.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires
The 1,600-year history of the city of Istanbul will be explored in this exhibition that will bring together famous and rarely seen objects from the V&A collection alongside significant national and international loans. Across the 200 objects on show will be a huge variation of artistic mediums — from textiles, ceramic tiles, and mosaics, to tableware, precious metalwork and jewellery. Together they'll demonstrate the extraordinary artistic production in one of the world’s most influential cities.
The thread running through the show will be the city's significance as the imperial and religious capital of two successive empires: the Byzantine (AD 330–1453) and the Ottoman (1453–1922). Visitors will get to explore their distinct yet connected traditions of art and design, built across sixteen centuries.
Constantinople to Istanbul: One City, Two Empires opens 07 November 2026 and runs until 09 May 2027
