Young residents aged 16 to 24 living in the London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest are being invited to help shape the future of one of the capital’s most anticipated cultural developments. The V&A East has officially announced that applications will soon open for the next cohort of the V&A East Youth Collective, offering a unique opportunity for creative and passionate individuals to directly influence how local museums and public spaces reflect their communities.
The initiative centers on a fundamental question: what should a museum and collections space look, feel, and sound like for young people in East London? To answer this, the V&A East team is assembling a dynamic group of young people to collaborate closely with the museum staff and commissioned creative practitioners. Together, this team will work to ensure that both the V&A East Museum and the V&A East Storehouse are welcoming, inspiring, and deeply relevant spaces for the younger generations growing up in the surrounding boroughs.
Applications for the prestigious programme are scheduled to open on Friday, 16th October 2026, with a direct link going live on the museum’s official page on that day. Prospective applicants will have until Sunday, 1st November 2026, at 11:59 pm to submit their applications. Organizers are looking for 12 young people who reflect the rich diversity of East London, possess a desire to make a difference in their communities, and hold the legal right to work in the UK to be eligible for payment.
The Youth Collective programme is structured as an immersive eight-month journey running from January through August 2027. Participants will attend 16 evening meetings held on alternating Thursdays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, hosted in person at locations across East London, supplemented by occasional weekend activities, cultural trips, and dedicated days within the museum spaces. The inaugural session is scheduled for Thursday, 14th January 2027, at 6:00 pm at the V&A East Storehouse.
Throughout the programme, participants will take part in collaborative creative workshops and excursions led by commissioned practitioners. These sessions are designed to influence how V&A East welcomes visitors, connects with local communities, and authentically reflects the lived experiences of young people in East London. Beyond community impact, the initiative aims to provide participants with valuable insights into careers within the cultural sector, while helping them build creative skills and expand their personal networks.
The upcoming cohort will build directly upon themes explored and identified by previous Youth Collective groups. These foundational topics range from identity, memory, and belonging to place, access, and decolonisation. To weave these concepts together, the new cohort will be invited to collaboratively explore how creative wellbeing and care for young audiences can be deeply embedded into the fabric of the museum spaces. This collaborative effort will culminate in the production of a tangible creative output that will be made publicly available to museum visitors and the wider audience.
Designed as a dynamic learning exchange, the project places co-production at its heart. Rather than following a rigid corporate curriculum, the programme will remain flexible, adapting to the project needs and the specific interests and themes that emerge among the participants, practitioners, and the institution itself as the months progress.
The initiative is deeply intertwined with the identity and mission of V&A East, a dynamic two-part cultural destination established as a new branch of the renowned Victoria and Albert Museum. Split across two distinct sites in Stratford, East London, the institution is dedicated to celebrating the act of making and unlocking creative possibilities.
The V&A East Museum, located in Stratford, is designed to celebrate making and explore the power of creativity to drive social change. Developed in close collaboration with young people and firmly rooted in East London’s rich industrial and cultural heritage, the museum examines the forces shaping the modern world through the perspectives of the voices leading contemporary culture.
Meanwhile, the V&A East Storehouse, situated near the Stratford Waterfront, offers a radically open approach to museum collections. Housing over half a million creative works and collection objects, the Storehouse is publicly accessible to all visitors. Featuring a series of large collection objects and specially curated displays, it is designed to immerse visitors in a vast array of compelling stories and narratives relevant to diverse audiences.
For those interested in learning more about the Youth Collective before submitting an application, V&A East is hosting a free public event on Sunday, 18th October, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the V&A Storehouse. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from alumni of previous V&A East youth engagement programmes and field practitioners. The afternoon will feature networking opportunities, hands-on risograph printing workshops, short film screenings, and engaging panel discussions.
Further information regarding the project, including detailed profiles of the commissioned practitioners leading the upcoming cohort, will be published on the official V&A East website on Friday, 16th October 2026. Individuals with questions about the application process or the programme itself can reach out directly to the engagement team via email at [email protected].