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V&A East Museum and The Music is Black: A Full Tour of the UK's Newest Museum

The Museum Guide

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Fancy a sneak peek of London’s newest museum, The V&A East Museum?

In this video, Jessica the Museum Guide (that’s me!) takes you on a fully guided tour the newest institution under the vaunted Victoria and Albert umbrella. We tour the two “Why We Make” galleries, hear from the director Gus Casely-Hayford, and take a tour of the inaugural exhibition, “The Music is Black: A British Story.”

Expect costumes, wild stories, thoughtful displays, and fashion, fashion, FASHION!

👉🏻Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe – leave a comment and let me know what you think about this wonderful museum.

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👉🏻Remember – I guide private museum, oddities, and cemetery tours in London and Canterbury. Get in touch at jessica@themuseumguide.com

20 Comments

@angelabrothers 5 months ago

Awesome tour. I loved that we got to have your first impressions. Thanks so much😊

@AshsMom-r2i 5 months ago

I can’t wait to come here in September (🇨🇦)…thank you for your tours, much appreciated 🙏🏼❤

@museumhead-e1u 5 months ago

Just got home from work, sssssoooo happy new video, getting some tea ready!❤❤❤

@Terese-m9u 5 months ago

Great tour Jessica! Thank you so much for charing! 🌼💛🌼

@angelpridgen3891 5 months ago

I just watched your tour here and I canNOT TELL YOU how amazing it is. I love it and the Black British Artists section was my favorite part. I was hoping you would pass by anything from Neneh Cherry, lol, but hopefully she will be there on the next V&A East Museum tour. I look forward to your videos and guided tours ands have also gotten my daughter into history and art via your eloquent and insightful guided tours. You are truly amazing. We love your intricate and detailed descriptions of everything. Absolutely stunning. Thank you for doing what you do. ~Angel🙏🏼💝🙂

@JenniferRyerse-Jones 5 months ago

You could very well have spent three days here and I'd still be watching! Really neat museum and you do unscripted beautifully. Thank you, Jessica.🍁

@ventiladora1000 5 days ago

Great tour! The beautiful Eileen Gray chair is from 1938. 😊

@judithstonier9872 5 months ago

This looks an amazing place oh to be lucky enough to live near enough to visit regularly and have time to see everything in small doses 😊❤

@Rockford_diecast 5 months ago

Great tour! Thank you for bringing me along.

@vintageadventureswithrobert 5 months ago

Also there is a single string instrument from China called an Erhu. There is many styles of music from Africa called Zydeco, Rag time, Jazz and all its forms. And Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle from about the first world war. And Eubie wrote many plays and was in the Phonofilm experiments around 1924 by Lee Deforest. James Reese and the Harlem Hellfighters.

@charliegeorgehenbury 5 months ago

I have to check this new museum out i’m a fan of the V&A museums

@kat6500 3 months ago

I love your videos thank you for making them. Living vicariously through you as a salarywoman stuck in the US for the most part. I listen to your videos while I work sleep or whatever you’re oddly calming, obviously intelligent, clearly funny and doing such a great service for us

@Braincell_23 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing your inaugural tour of V&A East Museum and the Music is Black exhibition.

Looking forward to visiting again for the upcoming Music is Black Festival weekends in June, July, August and September.

In the meantime tuning into the Music is Black mixtape on BBC website 🎶

@walkswithgrandma 5 months ago

Thank you for this great preview tour video. I plan to visit here later this year. It looks fantastic.

@clivesmith9377 5 months ago

I used to live just 2 minutes away from where Poly Styrene had her clothing shop at World's End (now an Italian chandelier shop),
and also few minutes away from the Westwood/McClaren "SEX" shop (still a Westwood clothing shop).
I cannot imagine the vibe existing there in the 1970s even though I've read so much about it.

@curtisk595 5 months ago

Thank you for pointing out the Beat versus English Beat as I was otherwise confused of the naming differences (being Canadian I only knew of the English Beat)

@AshsMom-r2i 5 months ago

35:50 COYI ⚒️😁

@jesskennedydelahoy 5 months ago

jessica, your guides get better and better. i am so grateful for your work.
question: this current exhibition (in particular, THE MUSIC IS BLACK): how long is it on in 2026?

@clivesmith9377 5 months ago

Shame, Grace Jones was not included. Her "Slave To The Rhythm" album,
concieved, written, played and produced in England by Trevor Horn's ZTT record company,
still very much talked about,

@clowchan 5 months ago

Finally my knowledge in musical theatre (esp Raúl Esparza theatre) knowledge comes in handy. That one picture you showed from the Leigh Bowery exhibit was featured in Taboo the Musical and that musical was about Leigh, Boy George, and the New Romantic movement in the 80s. Boy George actually played Leigh in the musical on Broadway.
Pablo Fanque's name should be familiar to Beatles' fans. He's mentioned in the "Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite" :D
I was waiting for a ska mentionswhen it comes to Black music and reggae. The Beat is also known as the English Beat in the US for the same reason
Also I will say even tho you can't show everything I appreciate what you could cause I live in the states and might not be able to visit