London Design Festival 2015: 'It is taking over the Victoria & Albert Museum'

Amira Hashish  interviews Victoria Broackes, head of the festival exhibits at the V&A
Dramatic entrance: Laetitia de Allegri and Matteo Fogale have collaborated with Johnson Tiles to create Mise-en-abyme, an immersive installation for the bridge over the Medieval and Renaissance galleries in the V&A
Amira Hashish18 September 2015

The Victoria & Albert Museum forms the core of the London Design Festival, merging the history of the prestigious space with vibrant new concepts. “It takes over the whole museum,” explains Victoria Broackes (below), head of the Festival at the V&A. “For 2015 there are 14 specially commissioned installations created by different design teams. These range from the small and intimate to the grand and spectacular. On top of that we have a huge programme of talks, workshops and special events arranged by daily theme. There really is something for everyone, whether they are professionals in the design industry, students or regular visitors and families. And there is a pop-up shop selling a curated selection of design pieces.”

This year’s projects include The Ogham Wall by Stirling Prize-nominee Grafton Architects – a shadowy forest made of tall concrete fins inspired by the Irish Ogham alphabet displayed in the Tapestries gallery; You Know You Cannot See Yourself So Well as by Reflection – a mirrored pavilion for the John Madejski Garden by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo; and Curiosity Cloud – an interactive lighting installation with insects by Austrian design duo mischer’traxler, inspired by the Art Nouveau movement and the traditional use of insect motifs.

Broackes recommends making a beeline for Zotem, a colourful 18m-high tower created by Kim Thomé (below) embedded with over-sized Swarovski crystals, which greets visitors at the main front doors. She also suggests taking the lift up to the ceramics galleries on level six to see the top where a crystal grid fans out in crescendo of colour and light.

“Another installation worth seeking out is The Cloakroom by Faye Toogood,” she adds. “Start in Gallery 55, picking up a specially designed coat to wear on a journey around the museum. Following a secret map hidden in the lining, you will discover 10 unique ‘coat’ installations hidden in the galleries, inspired by the objects that surround them. There is one inspired by medieval armour that I particularly like and one made out of sewing pins.”

To celebrate the centenary of furniture maker Robin Day’s birth, design and architecture collective Assemble has created an installation responding to Day’s passionate interest in wood, which is shown alongside his original furniture, archival photos and tools.

An imposing six-metre high installation by artist Barnaby Barford is not to be missed. The Tower of Babel comprises 3,000 bone china façades, each depicting a different London shop photographed by the artist. At its base the shops are derelict while at its pinnacle are London’s exclusive boutiques and galleries. Blurring the boundaries of art and commerce, each shop in the Tower is for sale.

Intersperse a browse around the museum with the insightful talks. “The V&A has always had a close relationship with designers. We are not only a place for great design to be archived and displayed but a place of inspiration and discussion,” says Broackes. Each day of talks is themed. Today’s talking point is ‘luxury’, tomorrow is ‘future’, Wednesday’s topic is ‘making’, Thursday focuses on ‘international’, Friday is dedicated to ‘industry’ and ‘digital design’ takes over on the weekend.

“London is a magnet for creatives from all over the world to train, live and work. It is the greatest place to see design, learn about it, use it, make it and celebrate it in museums, showrooms and out on the street,” says Broackes. The V&A’s intricate, interactive and challenging displays echo that sentiment.

London Design Festival runs 19-27 September

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