Tristram Hunt has been the director of London’s venerable Victoria and Albert Museum, known as the V&A, since 2017. With more than 2.8 million objects in its collection, the V&A has one of the world’s largest art holdings, with special strengths in decorative arts and design.
Hunt, 51, is the author of several books, including a biography of the famed 19th-century potter Josiah Wedgwood, and has an atypical museum background. He was a member of Parliament for seven years, representing Stoke-on-Trent in the north of England, and served for a time as shadow education secretary.
Hunt was interviewed over video about the museum’s past and present in advance of London’s Frieze Week. The conversation has been edited and condensed.
How has the museum changed over the years?
We want the ability to do something that makes you go, “We didn’t expect that.” Because there have been moments when the V&A was fusty and inward-looking. The goal is remaining scholarly, but not falling into scholasticism.
What is the key to that?
A high-low approach, like the David Bowie Center [which opened in September at the V&A East Storehouse]. We created an incredible archive of 90,000 objects. We’re using rigorous analysis and scholarship, but for a popular culture figure.
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The post A Venerable London Institution Aims to Embrace the Unexpected appeared first on New York Times.
