V&A announces 2027 London exhibition programme

The V&A has announced four major exhibitions for 2027 across its London museums, with the programme opening with a look at the cultural upheaval of the 1970s and 1980s before turning to contemporary sculpture, the history of South Indian chintz and new creative work from South Asia.

At V&A South Kensington, Punk to Pop, Sculpture in Clay and Chintz will explore three distinct chapters in music, art, fashion and design. At V&A East Museum, South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design. will focus on the designers, artists and architects shaping the region’s creative landscape today.

V&A South Kensington

Punk to Pop

13 March 2027 – 2 January 2028

Opening in March, Punk to Pop will examine the creative explosion across music, art and fashion between 1972 and 1985.

Promotional poster for Sex Pistols' single God Save The Queen, 1977. Jamie Reid. Artwork Jamie Reid, © Sex Pistols Residuals, Universal Music Group.

The exhibition will look at how the underground scenes of the 1970s and early 1980s helped shape mainstream culture. It will begin with the flamboyant aesthetics of glam rock and disco before exploring the emergence of new subcultures and the DIY attitude associated with punk.

Around 300 objects will be displayed, including stage costumes, photography, music videos and graphic design. The exhibition will feature artists and groups including the Sex Pistols, The Slits, The Specials, Joy Division, Wham! and Eurythmics.

The period was marked by austerity, political turbulence and rapid technological change. Against that backdrop, musicians, artists and designers developed new ways to create and communicate, often working outside established cultural structures.

Wham!, made up of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, photographed in London, 1983. Lin Gered Mankowitz, Iconic Images.

Punk to Pop will explore how those ideas fed into the pop culture of the 1980s, while also examining the role of music in questions of individuality, sexuality and identity.

Sculpture in Clay

29 May 2027 – 6 February 2028

Sculpture in Clay: British Ceramics 1985 to Now will examine how British artists have transformed clay from a traditional craft material into a medium for contemporary sculpture and installation.

The exhibition will focus on work produced from the mid-1980s to the present, looking at artists who have questioned conventional ideas about ceramics and expanded what can be achieved with clay.

Four chronological and thematic sections will bring together major installations and individual works, with contributions from the artists themselves. Featured artists will include Jacqueline Poncelet, Antony Gormley, Edmund de Waal, Richard Deacon and Clare Twomey.

Monument, Clare Twomey. Photo by Andy Paradise.

The exhibition will consider clay in both fired and unfired forms, showing how artists have used its physical qualities to create works that can be monumental, experimental, fragile or deliberately unconventional.

Chintz

18 September 2027 – 4 June 2028

Opening in September, Chintz will explore the 400-year history of South Indian chintz and its lasting impact on international art and design.

Made by hand-drawing designs onto cotton, chintz became highly sought after during the 1600s and 1700s. Its popularity spread across continents and social classes, making it one of the most desirable and widely copied fabrics of its time. The V&A will reconsider chintz through the work of its makers, presenting the textile as an art form rather than simply a historical consumer product.

Dress panel or bauw, made in Coastal southeast India, 18th century. Hand painted and dyed cotton. Karun Thakar Collection.

The exhibition will bring together pieces from the V&A’s collection with works from the private collection of Karun Thakar. Detailed patterns, colour and drawing will be key to the presentation, highlighting the artistic skill behind these textiles and the influence South Indian makers have had on global visual culture.

V&A East Museum

South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design.

24 April 2027 – 23 January 2028

V&A East Museum will present South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design., its second major exhibition, exploring contemporary creativity across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

More than 200 works will span fashion, art, architecture and design. The exhibition will focus on contemporary practitioners rather than presenting South Asia primarily through the familiar themes of heritage and traditional craft.

Amesh, Paddy Field Play, Evening Stroll, 2022. © Tavish Gunasena for AMESH.

Rare loans, new commissions and works being shown in the UK for the first time will introduce designers, architects, artists and makers working across the region today. Their work reflects shared histories, cultural exchange and knowledge passed between generations, while also responding to current social, environmental and political concerns.

The exhibition presents South Asia as a significant source of contemporary creative thinking, with designers and artists contributing to international conversations around fashion, architecture, art and design.

Tickets for the V&A’s 2027 London exhibitions will go on sale in 2027. Head to vam.ac.uk for more.