The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the Victoria and Albert Museum £1.75m to launch a new research institute. The first phase is a five-year programme to make the V&A’s collections more accessible. As the museum prepares to begin construction on V&A East, its planned outpost in east London, “we are looking at giving public access to some parts of our storage”, says Bill Sherman, the V&A’s director of research and collections. As part of the programme, the museum plans to digitise key items, including the Leman Album, an 18th-century volume containing the earliest surviving set of European silk designs. The grant will also fund new staff positions—allowing the museum to double the current research team—as well as fellowships, a residency programme and a series of visiting professorships.
