The 'V & A' claims to be 'The World's Greatest Museum of Art and Design' and this claim is probably correct. It is a 'must see' for all art and design students. It has historical collections of artefacts and images (prints and photographs) but the museum also collects plenty of contemporary work. The museum puts on important temporary exhibitions and you will find direct links to some of these in the next post. The museum is huge, so be selective when you visit for the first time and start with the sections that are relevant to your discipline. There are galleries of furniture, metalwork, jewellery, ceramics, architecture, sculpture, theatre design, graphic design, advertising, photography, drawings, fashion, glass, paintings. There are also galleries dedicated to specific countries or religions like Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Islamic design and period rooms such as medieval, baroque, surrealism and contemporary.
The museum also has 'The National Art Library' which is a brilliant library of art and design, accessible to anyone. You can register as a reader on your first visit, or online. You can search the catalogue on line.
The picture shows the John Madejski Garden in the interior courtyard of the museum, designed by Kim Wilkie and opened in 2005. In the summer you can buy food and drink from the small cafe in the courtyard.
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