V&A East’s plans to shake up the art world with community-inspired museum and storehouse
Gus Casely-Hayford is a man on a mission to open up and diversify the arts sector.
As founding director of V&A East – one of the world’s most significant new museum projects and part of the mayor of London’s £1.1bn Olympic legacy project – he knows that shifting the canon won’t necessarily be easy.
Gus Casely-Hayford plans to speak to around 100,000 young people about his two new arts venues. Pic: Victoria and Albert Museum
Casely-Hayford told Sky News: “There are challenges that we have in this country… Years of museum tradition based around particular narratives.
“There’s a fairly conservative bedrock upon which we have to begin to build new narratives. Think about how we can actually include voices that it may have felt acceptable to marginalise a generation ago.”
Based in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, V&A East will bring two brand new arts venues to East London – a five-storey, 7,000 square meter museum on the waterfront, and a vast glass and brick storehouse, offering more than 250,000 curated items for public view, just a 10-minute walk away.
Balenciaga inspired
Based on an X-Ray of a Balenciaga ballgown, and informally dubbed “the crab”, the museum will form part of a new cultural quarter collectively known as East Bank, nestling alongside a Sadler’s Wells dance theatre, BBC recording and performance studios and UAL’s London College of Fashion.
In a world where many consider the arts to be for the privileged few rather than the many, Casely-Hayford says his bid to highlight under-represented voices is clear cut.
He said: “These are our spaces paid for with our tax money. We should all be getting the benefit.”
Having moved back from the US to take up the role (he was previously director of the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art in Washington DC), Casely-Hayford has applied a fresh view to the British art scene.
X-ray of a silk taffeta Balenciaga evening dress, Paris, 1954. Pic: Nick Veasey, 2016
He said: “Art is one of the things that we do better than anyone else. You look at the sorts of people who represent us best at the Oscars or in music, and they represent the cultural diversity of our nation.
“I would love it if in the museum sector, if we could really get on board with that, invest in that, but not just do it in terms of the art that we display on our walls, but also the people who curate our spaces.”
The Global South
The museum will collect work from around the world, prioritising issues from the Global South – Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.
And far from being a modern obsession or trendy buzzword, Casely-Hayford believes diversity is woven into the very fabric of being British.
An early concept image for V&A East Museum. Pic: JA Projects
He said: “The thing that makes me proud is that we are a diverse nation. You think about our national flag, that we didn’t choose a tricolour.
“We chose a flag which demonstrates the differences and how we come together, that we are a number of different nations. We accept diversity, complexity, and we want our space to be able to tell those stories.
“All of that cultural complexity, the stories of empire, of enslavement, of all these difficult things. But also, the transcendent stories of how through creativity, we can come together as one.
“We can be a single nation that celebrates greatness, goodness, that celebrates the sorts of things that inspire a new generation.”
V&A East Museum in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Pic: Victoria & Albert Museum
‘An engine of transformation’
And he says aside from artists and curator diversity, attention must be turned to both the visitors and staff of the museum too.
“We want to build this institution from the ground up, for and with our local communities. We want it to reflect their need,” he said.
“When it opens in 2025 and you come into our space, I’m hoping that you’ll be welcomed by people who demonstrate the kind of cultural complexity of the people that live in and around this area.”
Not a man to rest on his laurels, he’s quite literally got on his bike to share news of the new spaces to secondary schools in the area, in a bid to talk to 100,000 young people.
It is his ambition that one of the children who walks through the museum doors will go on to have their art on the walls, or even one day claim his job.
Calling the spaces “an engine of transformation”, he wants the younger generation to see the creative industries as a viable profession, as he says, “not from the margins, not feeling they’re part of the peripheral, but right in the bedrock of institutions like V&A East”.
Holding institutions to account
Ahead of these potential new opportunities, emerging artist Heather Agyepong says the last two years have been transformational in black British art, offering her a position of power as an artist for the first time.
Heather Agyepong, visual artist and actor. Pic: Hydar Dewachi
She told Sky News: “I think since George Floyd was murdered, and the black uprisings, there’s been a real thirst and a kind of embarrassment about the lack of black British art in collections.
“In 2020, all of these institutions gave these massive pleas and dedications to include more black British art, which has been amazing. But I think now, two years on, you’re seeing that some of it was a little bit performative, or for optics.
“For me as an artist now, I feel I can hold those intuitions accountable because they made all of these claims, and I can go back and say, ‘what are you doing to address your collections? What are you doing to address the inclusion of black British art?’
“I feel quite empowered now, as an artist moving forward.”
However, she admits she wasn’t always as clued up about the rich heritage of the UK’s black artists.
Ego death at Jerwood Space, supported by Photoworks. Pic: Anna Arca
She said: “I did an MA at Goldsmiths in 2013, and that was my first introduction to black British art, before then, I think I didn’t even know black British artists existed, if I’m honest.
“My course convenor, Paul Halliday, opened my eyes to what that whole movement looked like. And I remember, I was just stunned, and I felt like, ‘why did no one tell me this?’, because I always felt I was by myself. So, that course was really instrumental in understanding the legacy of us as artists.”
‘Small and in the corner’
Speaking about her latest exhibition, Ego Death, which includes oversized fabric triptychs, one inspired by Oscar winning film Get Out, she says: “There’s a thing sometimes about black artists, we feel like we can’t take up space, that we’ve kind of got to be small and in the corner. Be kind of apologetic.”
She credits artists including Turner Prize winning Lubaina Himid, Sonya Boyce and Claudette Johnson – who all came to prominence during the UK Black Arts movement (BAM) of the 1980s – as “paving the way” for her, adding: “I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Lisa Anderson, managing director of the Black Cultural Archives
Lisa Anderson, managing director of the Black Cultural Archives (BCA), also credits the movement with inspiring her to pursue a career in the arts.
For her latest exhibition, Transforming Legacies, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of BAM, she reunited more than 50 artists of African and Caribbean ancestry to recreate the iconic 1958 A Great Day In Harlem photo.
Anderson says improving representation across the board is a matter of teamwork.
“We need allyship as well. We need collaboration from galleries, other researchers, universities, auction houses so that they can validate and support the growth of the work from these artists,” she said.
Black British artists gather for a photograph inspired by Art Kane’s A Great Day in Harlem. Pic: David Kwaw Mensah
Culture wars
As government funding has dried up, sustained support needed to give communities a level footing has dropped away.
But in the face of adversity, Anderson is hopeful: “We’re in the midst of a culture war with some key figures in the government questioning the importance of equality and inclusion and questions of diversity. So, it is very discombobulating.
“But I think the momentum for focus on artists from the African diaspora in a meaningful, inclusive way is something to be hopeful about. I’m definitely going to be joining hands with other organisations, other key leaders within the UK and internationally to keep that going for the long term.
“What would be horrendous, is if 20 years from now, we’re having to have a similar conversation. I don’t want that to be the case. I just want this conversation to expand.”
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V&A East Storehouse will open in 2024 and V&A East Museum will open in spring 2025.
Transforming Legacies is on show at Black Cultural Archives, Brixton, until 31st January 2023.
Heather Agyepong’s, Ego Death exhibition was first shown at the Jerwood Space, London, in 2022 and will tour to Belfast Exposed, Northern Ireland, in 2023. Her solo exhibition, Wish You Were Here, will be showing at the new Centre for British Photography from January and her work will be included in Photo50 at the London Art Fair in the new year. She will also be appearing in Amazon Prime’s forthcoming thriller The Power.
UK
Lucy Hargreaves was shot dead in 2005 – her home set on fire. A suspect in her murder is still at large
Britain’s most-wanted fugitive is still on the run – exactly 20 years after the fatal shooting of a young mother of three.
Kevin Parle is a suspect in the murder of Lucy Hargreaves, 22, who was shot dead at her home in Liverpool before the house was set on fire on 3 August 2005.
Since then, after many appeals for information, there has been no confirmed sighting, word or trace of him.
Two decades on, Ms Hargreaves’ family have had no justice. Two young men prosecuted for her murder had charges dropped when a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence against them.
In a statement marking the anniversary of her death, they said: “The way we lost Lucy is not something families can ever truly come to terms with – it is still incredibly difficult and painful to think about.
“Over the past 20 years, people will have talked with family and friends. A number of people were contacted by males using a phone that was stolen along with a vehicle used in Lucy’s murder.
“We appeal directly to them to please come forward. Now is the time.”
Police prediction of how Kevin Parle has aged since 2005. Pic: Merseyside Police
Three men burst into Lucy’s home 20 years ago today, shot her dead as she slept on a sofa, and set alight the duvet she’d been sleeping under.
It’s believed the gang were looking for her boyfriend Gary Campbell, who was upstairs. He fled from a window with their two-year-old daughter and then tried in vain to save Ms Hargreaves.
Mr Campbell had allegedly been a passenger in a stolen car that had hit and killed a young boy 12 years earlier, supposedly the motive for the shooting. He denied he was in the car at the time.
Ms Hargreaves with her three children
Howard Rubbery, head of the Serious Crime Review Unit at Merseyside Police said: “The family remain absolutely devastated by Lucy’s death.
“It’s important to note Lucy is an absolutely innocent victim. She’s not from a family of criminality. She wasn’t involved in criminality.
“The hunt for Kevin Parle is very much on, and we ask anybody with information, anybody who is close to Parle and knows where he is, to please come forward.
“There were three males responsible for this offence and we are looking for justice for Lucy’s family in relation to all three.
“I do believe that there are people out there who have yet to speak to the police, even though it’s 20 years on, who hold information that’s absolutely vital to our investigation.”
Police believe Parle, now in his 40s, fled to Spain where he hid among the vast expat community with criminal help.
Several years later, I tracked his movements to a holiday complex near Torrevieja, where staff convinced me he had stayed there for several weeks.
Former detective Peter Bleksley says Parle is being protected
‘Huge value to organised crime’
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley, who recently spent four years on a personal hunt for Parle, also visited the complex and said: “He was bold and he was brash and he had a girlfriend at one point.
“The police actually should have captured him there, but they were too late.”
He claimed he nearly caught up with Parle at a villa elsewhere in Spain, but spooked him into disappearing again.
Mr Bleksley hosted an award-winning podcast and wrote a book in which he chronicled his manhunt.
He said: “Kevin Parle has remained hidden because he is funded, protected, looked after and of huge value to global, serious and organised crime.”
Parle can’t be hard to spot – he’s well-built, 6ft 5in tall, red-haired with a face scar and, originally at least, has a Liverpool accent. Of course, he might be dead.
Mr Bleksley said: “I can think of many reasons why certain criminals would want to get rid of Kevin Parle because he could, in terms of evidence about the cases that he’s wanted for, should he flip and become a witness for the Crown, be highly damaging for a lot of very tasty criminals.”
16-year-old Liam Kelly was shot dead a year before Ms Hargreaves. Pic: Merseyside Police
Parle is also wanted in connection with the murder of 16-year-old Liam Kelly, who was shot dead over an alleged £200 debt in June 2004, a year before Lucy’s death. Parle was arrested and questioned, but then freed on bail.
There have been reports of the fugitive in Australia and Dubai, but nothing to corroborate any of them.
If he’s alive and if no one is prepared to shop him, what might lead to his capture?
“I think when he has a fallout with those who have guarded him, funded him, fed him, put a roof over his head and all of that, maybe even paid for his plastic surgery that could have altered his appearance,” Mr Bleksley said.
“When he finally has a fallout, when he’s no longer of use, then perhaps that will be the day that somebody goes, Peter, he’s here.”
Several demonstrators have been detained after rival groups faced off over a hotel accommodating asylum seekers in north London, with police breaking up brief clashes.
The Metropolitan Police has since imposed conditions on the protest and counter-protest outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington.
The protest was organised by local residents under the banner “Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no”.
The group of several hundred people waved union flags and banners, and one man chanted: “Get these scum off our streets.”
Anti-immigration protesters waved Union Jack flags. Pic: PA
A larger group staged a counter demonstration to voice support for asylum seekers, bearing a banner that read: “Refugees are welcome.”
People inside the hotel, believed to be migrants, watched on, with some waving and blowing kisses from the windows.
People believed to be asylum seekers waved the hotel windows. Pic: PA
Pro-immigration protesters gathered by the Thistle City Barbican Hotel. Pic: PA
A man wearing an England football shirt was detained by police after getting into an altercation with officers.
There have been nine arrests so far, seven of which were for breaching conditions police put on the protests under the Public Order Act.
Rival groups separated by police
Another protest was scheduled in Newcastle on Saturday, outside The New Bridge Hotel, as anti-migrant sentiment ripples through some communities around the country, also flaring up recently in Epping.
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Last week: Protesters divided over migrant hotels
The counter-protest in London was organised by local branches of Stand Up To Racism, and supported by former Labour leader and Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn.
Other community groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party were also involved.
Groups online that backed the original protest include “Patriots of Britain” and “Together for the Children”.
At one point, a large group of masked protesters dressed in black, calling themselves anti-fascists, appeared from a side street and marched towards the rival group outside the hotel.
The two groups briefly clashed before police rushed in to separate them.
Pic: PA
Supporters of local protest group ‘Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no’. Pic: PA
Why are asylum hotels used?
The government is legally required to provide accommodation and subsistence to destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being decided, most of whom are prohibited from working.
A jump in the use of hotels since 2020 has been attributed to the impacts of the COVID pandemic, a backlog in unresolved asylum cases, and an increase in the number of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.
However, the number of asylum seekers living in hotels has fallen recently, from 38,079 at the end of 2024 to 32,345 at the end of March 2025, according to the Refugee Council.
How police tried to keep groups apart
The police imposed conditions on both groups in London to prevent “serious disorder” and minimise disruption to the community.
Those in the anti-asylum hotel protest were told to remain within King Charles Square, and to gather not before 1pm and wrap up by 4pm.
Those in the counter-protest were to required to stay in an area in Lever Street, and assemble only between 12pm and 4pm, but were still in eye and ear shot of the other group.
Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.
“We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.
“Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely, but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.”
Meanwhile, the protest in Newcastle was promoted by online posts saying it was “for our children, for our future”.
The “stop the far right and fascists in Newcastle” counter-protest was organised by Stand Up To Racism at the nearby Laing Art Gallery.
A man has been remanded into custody charged with child cruelty offences after allegedly lacing sweets with sedatives.
Jon Ruben, 76, of Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Saturday after youngsters fell ill at a summer camp in Stathern, Leicestershire.
He has been charged with three counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning or exposing children in a manner likely to cause them unnecessary suffering or injury to health.
The charges relate to three boys at the camp between 25-29 July.
The scene in Stathern, Leicestershire. Pic: PA
Ruben spoke only to confirm his name, age and address.
Police received a report of children feeling unwell at a camp being held at Stathern Lodge, near Melton in Leicestershire, last Sunday.
Officers said paramedics attended the scene and eight boys – aged between eight and 11 – were taken to hospital as a precaution, as was an adult. They have since been discharged.
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Police said the “owners and operators of Stathern Lodge are independent from those people who use or hire the lodge and are not connected to the incident”.
Leicestershire Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, after officers initially reported the incident as having happened on Monday, only to later amend it to Sunday.
It is still unclear when officers responded and whether that is why the watchdog referral has been made.
Ruben will next appear at Leicester Crown Court on 29 August.
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