V&A East Exhibition: The Music is Black
LONDON: April 15, 2026 — The Music Is Black: A British Story is the landmark inaugural exhibition at the new V&A East Museum in Stratford, scheduled to open on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Curated by Jacqueline Springer, this multi-sensory exhibition traces 125 years of Black British music, exploring its evolution from early 20th-century origins and African musical influences, through post-war migration, and culminating in the vibrant music scene that defines the UK today.
The exhibition will showcase over 200 objects, including notable items such as Winifred Atwell’s upright piano, Joan Armatrading’s childhood guitar, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s batons.
Among the highlights are two exceptional pieces from the EMI Archive Trust: a rare Berliner Gramophone from 1895, which represents the early technologies that enabled people to hear their own voices for the first time.
The exhibition will also showcase the first public display of Fred Gaisberg’s diary. Gaisberg was a sound engineer and recording agent for the Gramophone Company, which later became known as EMI. His diary chronicles his first recording tour of Asia, which followed a well-established European colonial route to record music and songs, travelling through North Africa, India, and Asia, concluding in Japan between 1900 and 1903.
The gramophone and diary are displayed in the exhibition area titled ‘Great Britain’ 1900-1968.
Visit Details
Venue: V&A East Museum, 107 Carpenters Rd, London E20 2AR (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park)
Opens April 18, 2026
Hours: Daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM (extended hours to 10:00 PM on Thursdays and Saturdays).
Exhibition Book: “The Music is Black: A British Story,” edited by Jacqueline Springer, with a foreword by Dame Shirley Bassey.
Main Image: Fred Gaisberg’s first continental recording with his assistant Sinkler Darby (middle), Herr Wild (pianist), in Leipzig c.1900.
Inline Images:
Berliner Gramophone Co., Philadelphia, USA, c.1895, part of the EMI Archive Trust collection.
Sculpture ‘A Place Beyond’ by artist Thomas J Price, outside of London’s V&A East.