Glass looks forward to Sounds like Christmas at the V&A

INSPIRED by their current exhibition Opera: Passion, Power and Politics, the V&A will celebrate Christmas at their South Kensington and Museum of Childhood sites with a season inspired by sound and music. From November 17 to January 6 guests can enjoy a full programme of events from film screenings and candlelit concerts to festive displays and workshops.

Daily Christmas concerts

Visitors will be welcomed in the grand entrance by a cutting-edge Christmas tree designed by Es Devlin, stage designer to the National Theatre, Royal Opera House, Kanye West and Beyonce. The tree will take the form of a cloud of floating words, contributed by the visitors as they enter the building. Each word will be processed by text and sound algorithms to create unique poems that add to the installation.

Text-based Christmas tree

The interactive events won’t stop there with daily carol concerts and weekly candlelit concerts at the South Kensington site, including a performance by the Monteverdi Choir and a Christmas Number Ones singalong, as well as Christmas wreath and instrument building workshops. The Museum of Childhood will also host a Christmas designer market and Singalong Saturdays.

Build your own wreath workshops

The V&A South Kensington will also be celebrating the much vaunted tradition of Christmas Number One with a display featuring past festive hits. Guests can explore sheet music, LPs, record sleeves and more from the likes of Bing Crosby to Band Aid. There will be even more sound and music waiting in the Theatre and Performance Gallery with compilations of Christmas pantomimes past and present. Visitors to the Museum of Childhood can enjoy an audio and display trail exploring the sound of Christmas with bespoke pieces by acclaimed sound artist Neil Luck. With all these activities and more, it’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas at the V&A.

by Lucy Wai

For more information:

Victoria &Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

Museum of Childhood Cambridge Heath Road, Bethanl Green, London E2 9PA