Victoria & Albert Museum
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Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects.
The museum possesses the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, the holdings of Italian Renaissance items are the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection, alongside the Musée du Louvre and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is amongst the largest in the world.
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Friday 29th May 2009
The V&A; presented Friday Late ‘FLASH!’ to celebrate the new annual display in the Photography Gallery. And boy was it a giggle! Photography-based events were put on in all corners of the HUGE museum and navigating your way around to the next exhibition was like one great big adventure - a treasure hunt for photography gold!
As you wandered the halls there were ‘carnival cut-outs’ scattered everywhere. You could make a quick pit-stop to pose for a photo with your head sticking out of famous works from the V&A; collection (not the real photos of course). Marvellous fun!
If you were early enough (and disciplined enough) to take the Photography Trail, travelling through the history of photography, then you could have been in with a chance to win some limited edition postcards –the first 200 people to complete the trail pocketed some gems from Tess Hurrell, Sarah Pickering, Jem Southam and others.
But if you weren’t, then there were plenty of activities happening to keep you going, films, a camera obscura demonstration, getting your portrait taken against ‘The Green Green Glass of Home and learning how to make jewellery out of film canisters. You could even dress up and have your photo taken by Neeta Madahar in a fancy studio –although you had to get there early or you’d be turned away.
But I have to say, my personal favourite was the photo swap shop. The idea is simple, take a photo with you, have it displayed in the museum and at the end of the night win someone else’s photo. I came home with a beauty but I never did find out what happened to my photo and who won it – it’s all a mystery!
All in all, great fun in lovely surroundings and something a bit different to do with your Friday night.
If you’re visiting London and want a haven to pause from sightseeing or shopping for coffee or a light lunch, there’s a cafe I’d like to recommend to you.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington is a stone’s throw from Knightsbridge where every tourist visits Harrods to buy a tin of Earl Grey tea to take home for their mother and self respecting fashionistas check out the designers at Harvey Nichols. I was there to meet a friend for coffee before a spot of sightseeing in Greenwich (more of that later).
As you enter through the front entrance, don’t forget to look up at the two enormous chandeliers that hang above the front lobby. The first is a sculpture by architect Zaha Hadid, made of black crystals individually suspended on wires to make a shape which looks like a swarm of bees, hence it’s name of Swarm.
The second, above the information desk is of blue and yellow Venetian glass baubles by Seattle artist Dale Chihuly - it’s Murano with a modern twist.
If you can resist temptation, move on through the gift shop and you find the internal courtyard where you can take a coffee when the weather is fine. The shallow oval pool throws up jets of water and you can sit on the steps in the sunshine, or even paddle of you’re feeling hot.
On the other side of the courtyard you find the cafe which has recently been moved back to it’s original location when it opened in the 1860s as the first museum restaurant in the world. We sat in the Gamble room which is covered on all surfaces with decorative tiles and mottos below the ceiling such as Hunger is the best sauce.
On either side are two smaller rooms, decorated in similar arts and crafts style, one in Greens and Gold by William Morris, the other with blue and white Dutch tiles by Edward Poynter.
The decoration was dark and rich as a fruit cake, but if you find it too overpowering you can take your refreshment in the stark white modern corridors on either side of the cafe, with a classical marble sculpture for company.
Oh, by the way, in case you thought I was only feasting my eyes on all the decoration, the food was first class too. You can have anything from a slice of cake, to a salad lunch or a hot meal and I thought it was reasonably priced for central London.
After coffee and cake with my friend for around £4, I returned the next day for a substantial salad lunch which set me back £6.95. I’d much rather relax here in beautiful surroundings than some of the overpriced pavement cafes that I saw in Knightsbridge. And if you have time, the museum is wonderful too, especially if you love fashion, textiles and beautiful objects generally. And it’s free entry - what could be better?
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