V&A Dundee reveals details of 2018 opening

The museum is set to open in September, and will include permanent galleries showcasing historical and current Scottish design and a temporary exhibition on the cultural impact of ocean liners.

Photo: Ross Fraser McLean

Update 9 February 2018: Construction work has now been completed on V&A Dundee’s exterior. The museum’s architect Kengo Kuma has visited the construction site to see the finished building for the first time today. The focus will now move to the museum’s interior, fitting out gallery spaces, installing objects and completing other areas such as the café and restaurant ahead of the opening in September 2018.


The Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum has announced the permanent gallery spaces and exhibitions opening at its new outpost in Dundee, Scotland later this year.

V&A Dundee will open to the public in September 2018, and will feature permanent galleries focusing on Scottish design, as well as an international programme of changing exhibitions and other design commissions and installations.

The Kengo Kuma-designed building is part of a £1 billion, 30-year masterplan, which was launched in 2001 with the aim of reconnecting Dundee’s abandoned waterfront area with the rest of the city to help turn it into a cultural hub.

The Scottish Design Galleries – designed by architectural practice ZMMA – will include 300 exhibits drawn from the V&A’s own collection and other Scottish and international museums. These will include original Beano artworks from Dundee-based publishers DC Thomson and a Cartier Valkyrie diamond tiara.

At the centre of the Scottish Design Galleries will sit the 13.5-metre-long panelled Oak Room designed by the late architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which has been restored by the V&A and Glasgow Life.

Photo: Ross Fraser McLean

The Michelin Design Gallery will showcase contemporary design talent, beginning with an exhibition on the museum’s recent Scottish Design Relay project, which looked to engage young people across Scotland with design.

The museum’s first major temporary exhibition – Ocean Liners: Speed & Style – will look at the design and cultural impact of ocean travel. It has been organised by the V&A and the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts, US and will be brought to life by exhibition design consultancy Casson Mann.

Turner Prize-nominated artist Ciara Phillips has been commissioned to produce a new work to be installed on the upper floor of the museum. The artwork will take inspiration from the history of textiles and ceramic production in Scotland.

The museum will also include learning spaces for visitors, a design residency studio where designers will share ongoing projects with visitors, an auditorium for conferences and other events, and a restaurant.

V&A Dundee will open to the public on 15 September 2018.

Photo: Ross Fraser McLean
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