The refurbished space breaks the last century and a quarter into new thematic sections, with special attention paid to diversity
In November 2019, after almost 30 years, the V&A’s 20th Century gallery closed its doors. Split across the same two rooms that blend into the National Art Library, the ambition was to reopen having found a way to tell a new story of the 20th and 21st century, “focused on design and society”.
The gallery was supposed to open last June. It was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and there’s a frugal feel to the space with the same cases being used to display the collection (the plinths that the items stand on being the only new elements).
