V&A Museum – Exhibitions Planned for 2009/10

Indian Culture, Grace Kelly, Ballets Russes, Digital Arts and More

Sep 22, 2009

New shows will explore India's Royal Courts, Horace Walpole and Strawberry Hill House, digital art, Grace Kelly's wardrobe, and Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.

Even though the V&A is undergoing major redevelopment the museum continues to offer outstanding exhibitions. Popular displays include the new Ceramics Gallery and Baroque Style in the Age of Magnificence. The following shows are all charged events, but in the true tradition of the V&A, they are certain to be excellent value for money.

The V&A's latest major exhibition, opening 10th October 2009, examines life in India's Royal Courts. The show will start with the period immediately after the collapse of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th Century and will end in 1947, when British rule came to an end.

The exhibition will feature spectacular items related to different aspects of life in the royal court. Items on display will include both Western and Indian works, paintings, photographs, textiles and dress, metalwork and furniture as well as jewellery and jewelled objects. The exhibition will run from 10th October 2009 to 17th January 2010.

Another major exhibition about to open is Decode – Digital Design Sensations. This show will look at the latest developments in digital and interactive design, such as digitally growing plants and mechanical eyes that mirror the blink of a visitor's gaze.

Works by international artists, including Daniel Brown, Golan Levin, Daniel Rozin, Simon Heijdens, and Troika, will be on display. The exhibition will open in The Porter Gallery from 8th December 2009 to 11th April 2010.

This display will feature patchwork and quilted covers from the V&A's collection spanning over 300 years of British quilting history.

The exhibition will include items ranging from bed hangings and silk coverlets from the 18th Century to quilts by modern artists such as Tracey Emin. The show will explore the history of quilt making through a number of themes including consumerism, luxury and utility. The exhibition will be on view from 20th March to 4th July 2010.

Horace Walpole was one of the most important English collectors of the 18th Century. This is the first ever major exhibition devoted to Walpole.

The show will bring together a number of extraordinary items, some from Strawberry Hill House, the property Walpole purchased and redesigned with Georgian Gothic architectural features. The show will be open from 6th March to 4th July 2010.

An exhibition of more than 50 of Grace Kelly's spectacular outfits, including jewellery and the original Hermès Kelly bag, will chart Kelly's personal sense of style from the 1950s, as one of Hollywood's most popular actresses, to her tastes when she was Princess Grace of Monaco.

The lace ensemble worn for her marriage ceremony to Prince Rainier in 1956, plus 35 haute couture gowns from the 1960s and 70s, will be displayed alongside costumes from films such as High Society. These will be accompanied by posters, photographs, film clips and, of course, her Oscar statuette. The show will be open from 17th April to 26th September 2010.

This display will explore the origins and legacy of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and marks the 100th anniversary of its first performance. The dancers, designers and composers who worked with Diaghilev included Igor Stravinsky, Natalia Goncharova, George Balanchine, Coco Chanel, Robert Delaunay, Vaslav Nijinsky, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and many more. The exhibition will be open from 25th September 2010 to 16th January 2011.

Further details of all the above exhibitions, including admission times, and prices, can be obtained from the V&A Museum.

The copyright of the article V&A Museum – Exhibitions Planned for 2009/10 in Special Art Gallery Exhibits is owned by Frances Spiegel. Permission to republish V&A Museum – Exhibitions Planned for 2009/10 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.