V&A East Director Gus Casely-Hayford Champions Youth Engagement in Museums
Gus Casely-Hayford, director of V&A East, has made it his mission to inspire the creatives of the future through the new museum's innovative approach. He expresses concern over young people's disengagement from cultural institutions, despite the wealth of inspiration available. "It breaks my heart to see young people disengaged when so much inspiration is within reach," Casely-Hayford states. "I want our new museum to bridge that gap."
Towards a Civic Museum: A Collaborative Art Commission
One of the standout pieces at V&A East is Towards a Civic Museum, a stained-glass work by Cuban artist Tania Bruguera. This exquisite piece, featuring indigo, cobalt blue, and cyan hues, was created in consultation with a dozen young east Londoners from the V&A East Youth Collective. It serves as both a map of the four boroughs surrounding the Olympic Park site and a list of wishes, forming a contract between east London and the museum.
Created in the post-pandemic period, the work advances key aspirations for the museum sector:
- Being open, accessible, and useful
- Reflecting community needs
- Promoting transparency and advocacy
- Demonstrating generosity, equity, and accountability
- Encouraging sustainability and collaboration
Casely-Hayford notes that these institutional aims are both timely and timeless, echoing the core aspiration of Henry Cole, the 19th-century founder of the V&A, to make a meaningful difference to young people's lives. However, he acknowledges that the Victorian vision of achieving this no longer aligns with contemporary expectations. "We want public institutions that inspire and reflect us, all of us; institutions that are not just made for us, but that are created with and by us, too," he emphasizes.
Reigniting Awe and Wonder in Young People
Reflecting on his own childhood, Casely-Hayford recalls the excitement of visiting museums like the Natural History Museum, British Museum, and Science Museum. "As much as the memory of objects, it was the pleasure of spending time in close proximity to so many incredible things, all free at the point of access," he says.
However, he observes that many young people lose this sense of awe during adolescence. "My heart often sinks when I visit museums to see whole classes of young people sitting on stairs focused on mobile devices metres away from glorious things," he admits. He believes this disengagement is not due to a lack of curiosity but rather a failure of cultural institutions to connect with youth during formative years.
To address this, V&A East has been developed through extensive consultation with over 30,000 young people. Casely-Hayford personally visited 100 secondary schools to listen to their hopes, dreams, frustrations, and concerns. This feedback has shaped every aspect of the museum, from presentation to operational delivery.
Shaping the Museum Around Youth Priorities
Young audiences have helped V&A East reconsider how museums can present permanent collections through the lens of their priorities. Key concerns identified include:
- Representation and identity
- Health and wellbeing
- Social justice
- Environmental action
- Creating a better world for people and planet
These concerns have directly influenced the museum's programming, from New Work commissions by artists like Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, and Rene Matić to the design and content of the Why We Make galleries. These galleries offer a fresh perspective on the V&A's historic and contemporary collections of art, design, fashion, and performance.
The Music is Black: A British Story
The opening exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story, showcases compelling stories of making and creativity. It features hundreds of creatives from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor to Little Simz, presented in engaging ways. The exhibition has also enabled the collection of new material, including a Super Nintendo console owned by Jamie Adenuga (JME).
This console played a pivotal role in JME's creative journey. Using Mario Paint, he discovered a facility to create simple tunes, eventually making ringtones for friends' phones. This early creative experience, coupled with positive feedback from classmates, set him on a path to co-founding Boy Better Know, one of grime's most successful labels.
Casely-Hayford highlights that JME's story mirrors those of other creatives like David Bailey, Alexander McQueen, and Molly Goddard, who grew up near the Olympic Park. Beyond talent and hard work, they needed support, encouragement, and inspiration—a catalyst to help them realize their creative potential.
A Duty to Inspire Future Creatives
Casely-Hayford asserts that it is a duty for cultural institutions to provide this encouragement to young people. "At V&A East, we want to be there for all those who wish to create," he says. "And even for those who will never work in the creative industries, but who might fall in love with what we do, we want to be there to speak with, and to, and for them."
V&A East opens on 18 April, marking a new chapter in museum engagement with youth and community-focused programming.
