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The National
5 days ago
- The National
Domed ceilings, rugs and fibreglass heels: Inside the Middle East collections at London's V&A East Storehouse
Tunisian woollen rugs were among the first items from the Middle East collected by the organisers of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, which paved the way for the creation of the city's Victoria and Albert Museum. Today, as the landmark museum expands to the east of the capital, its collection boasts some of the rarest and most refined examples of Islamic art, as well as a range of contemporary design commissions from the Middle East. Among the major feats at the Storehouse, the V&A's new venue in the Olympic Park which opens on Saturday, is the reassembly of an Islamic domed ceiling from a lost 15th century palace in Torrijos, central Spain. The ornate wooden marquetry panels are believed to be from a dining room because of an Arabic inscription that reads 'we drink and have fun together'. For Storehouse curator Georgia Haseldine, the ceiling is an illustration of the collaboration between Christian and Islamic craftsmen of the time – a coexistence that was thwarted soon afterwards by the Spanish Inquisition. 'It was a moment when Islamic design was the high point of fashion across the Iberian Peninsula,' she told The National. 'Yet it is obviously tinged with sadness, because we are on the eve of that moment of the expulsions.' The ceiling is among 250,000 objects, 350,000 books and 1,000 archives from the V&A's collections which have been made publicly available at the new venue in Stratford. Occupying four levels, the 16,000-square metre space takes over a large section of the former London 2012 Olympics media centre. A new V&A East museum will also open at a separate venue in the Olympic Park in 2026. The Storehouse's innovative approach makes the pieces normally confined to museum storage accessible to the public. Designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, a central atrium is surrounded by racks of open shelving. V&A deputy director Tim Reeve, who developed the concept for the Storehouse, described it as a 'backstage pass' to the museum. '[It is] transforming how people can access their national collections on a scale unimaginable until now. I hope our visitors enjoy finding their creative inspiration and immersing themselves in the full theatre and wonder of the V&A as a dynamic working museum.' Visitors can walk through the space, where items are curated according to themes rather than by region or time period, and they can also 'order' objects for viewings in the private study rooms. Tatreez Palestinian dresses, decorated with traditional tatreez embroidery, are displayed on the way to the viewing studio. 'It is so important for us to be collecting tatreez because it is so regionally specific, and they're also so popular," Haseldine said. "Loads of people in east London are wanting to come here and see Palestinian tatreez." Contemporary design items such as rubber and fibreglass shoes designed by Zaha Hadid, and a silverwear sculpture by Miriam Hanid, commissioned by the V&A, are also prominently displayed. A stone sculpture by Lebanese artist Najla El Zein is one of the earliest pieces the museum acquired after appointing its first contemporary Middle East curator, Salma Tuqan, in 2011. 'That appointment was really important for the V&A,' Haseldine said. Community is at the heart of the V&A East expansion and Haseldine worked with young women from the Museum's Youth Collective to curate some of the displays. The Storehouse is expected to make important contributions to the regeneration of the Olympic Park and its surrounding areas, which this year were ranked as the UK's best for social mobility. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was "proud" to be supporting the project, which "marks a hugely significant moment in our work to create the most ambitious cultural development in decades, helping us to ensure London stays the creative capital of the world'. Four Yemeni funerary stones nod to the V&A's work preserving culture in conflict. The stelae were discovered in a Hackney antiques shop by a Yemeni student in 2010. The items had been looted and were being sold in London as Mexican icons. The items were then seized by the Metropolitan Police and identified by the V&A. They are on temporary display at the Storehouse and will eventually be returned to Yemen. 'It is really moving for the Yemeni community in London that we've been talking to about this, because they can come see these artefacts and be in their presence,' Haseldine said. A Yemeni artist has been invited to produce a work inspired by the stelae later this year. A key feature of the Storehouse will be Order an Object, which invites viewers to 'order' an item from the collection to view and handle it in one of the study rooms. More than 1,000 objects have already been ordered since the online platform launched this month, including by someone seeking inspiration for her wedding dress design. Senior Middle East curator Tim Stanley recommends ordering the Tunisian rug that appeared at the Great Exhibition in 1851. 'Tunisian textiles have an honoured place in the history of the V&A. The organisers of the museum were so impressed with the design qualities of the textiles from Tunisia and other parts of the Islamic world that they bought them in large numbers,' he told The National. Dr Stanley also recommends an engraved ivory tent pole fitting, which marks the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman sultan Selim I in 1517. The Sultan is named in the Mamluk-style decorations, and it is believed the pole was made for him in Cairo. Visitors can also order items from the V&A's extensive fashion collection, such as a 1954 pink taffeta evening dress by Balenciaga. Haseldine hopes the collection and outreach programme can be used to promote cultural heritage projects in the Middle East. One example is the 1883 plaster cast of a rosette from the Mamluk period in Cairo which was recently restored and stabilised. It is being studied by Omniya Abdel Barr, a Cairene conservation architect and housing activist whose research at the Storehouse aims to show how museum objects can be used to support heritage conservation policies in Cairo. 'A collection can become an activist's tool. The evidence that we hold within the V&A points to things that need to be taken into concern by city planners,' Haseldine said of Barr's research. 'It's so exciting that this thing that was recorded and brought back to the V&A in the 1980s as this amazing example for craftspeople here in London, now has a whole other meaning, where its significance is going back to Cairo,' she said.
Scottish Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
London's newest tourist town in ‘forgotten' district is £1.3bn attraction with hotels, theatre and rooftop bar
A MAJOR UK attraction has revealed plans to start reopening later this year after a £1.3billion upgrade. Olympia London has undergone the huge renovation to turn it into a new "cultural hub," having become a forgotten district in the city. 7 Olympia London is reopening some of its huge £1.3billion redevelopment this year Credit: Olympia London 7 New hotels, restaurants and bars are part of the makeover Credit: Olympia London 7 Olympia Theatre is the biggest new purpose-built theatre in 50 years Credit: Olympia London Known for being the home of global events including BBC Good Food Show and Comic Con as well as live music and fashion shows, the major upgrade started back in 2019. Spread across 14 acres it will be a new "arts, entertainment and exhibition district". Two new hotels will open on-site, including the 204-room Hyatt Regency and 146-room citizenM design hotel. A new Music Hall with a 4,000-capacity arena will be run by AEG Presents, the second biggest live music promoter in the world behind Live Nation. Olympia Theatre, run by Trafalgar Entertainment, is the biggest new purpose-built theatre in 50 years, with space for 1,575 people. Another 30 restaurants and bars will open including street halls and rooftop venues, alongside a boutique gym. And a new office space, performing arts school and pedestrianised streets are also part of the plans. The project is being backed by Deutsche Finance International and Yoo Capital, who are funding the full £1.3billion. The website states: "We're now looking forward to our next chapter, as we bring new life to one of the UK's most iconic heritage sites and become part of something much bigger." Yoo Capital added: "The £1.3 billion regeneration of Olympia will create London's newest creative district: a destination for culture, education, entertainment, exhibitions, incredible offices, eateries and over two acres of public realm." I tried the London tour that lets you make the viral TikTok doughnuts - and you can book for Easter 7 Olympia London first opened in 1886 Credit: Alamy 7 The huge venue is now home to more than 200 shows a year Credit: Alamy Parts of the renovation are opening this year, although others such as the new ICC conference space will open next year. Olympia London first opened in 1886, following the success of Crystal Palace's Great Exhibition in 1851. Upcoming events include London Tech Week, London Film and Comic Con and Hyper Japan Festival. The venue also has its own train station with Kensington (Olympia) having both overground and underground services. 7 The complex is known for hosting global events Credit: Olympia London Already open is a huge new glass canopy which launched at the end of last year and was inspired by the original exhibition halls. Designed by Heatherwick Studio, founder Thomas Heatherwick, said: 'Olympia was once a people's palace – a place to come together and experience unusual things. "Having lost its way over the years, we're now working to bring back its original spirit and make Olympia open and available to everyone." In the mean time, a new "first of its kind" Titanic attraction is set to open in London. The UK's only Guinness attraction is opening in London later this year as well. And we've rounded up 15 attractions across the UK where you can find £1 entry tickets.
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Book review: Reinterpreting the Irish Famine as a consequence of unbridled capitalism
More than six million visitors attended the Great Exhibition in London in 1851. Held in the cast iron, specially-built Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, this global fair showcased the industrial might of the UK, the world's most powerful economy. But it failed to acknowledge the tragedy unfolding within its borders. During the Great Famine (1845-52), at least 1m people died of starvation in Ireland and about 1.5m fled. In 1847, Britain's prime minister, Lord John Russell, likened the spiralling calamity to a 'famine of the 13th century'. For Padraic X Scanlan, this gross juxtaposition of commercial celebration and human catastrophe encapsulates Britain's ruthless attitude to the Great Famine. The historian's central contention in Rot is that Westminster's response to the starvation was defined by its overarching commitment to the principles of the free market. Underlining the book's polemical tone, Scanlan argues that Ireland during the Famine was a laboratory in which the most exploitative aspects of 'capitalist modernity' were unleashed. 'The blight was a consequence of a novel pathogen spreading among fields of vulnerable plants,' he writes. But the famine — a complex ecological, economic, logistical, and political disaster — was a consequence of colonialism. The dependence of the working poor on the potato in pre-Famine Ireland was unmatched anywhere in the world. Many Britons regarded the potato as the source of Irish poverty, associating the food with the lower classes' innate laziness and lack of civilisation. This perspective ignored the transformative effect of the land settlement achieved by Oliver Cromwell's conquest of the country. In pre-Famine Ireland, about 2.7m people (more than 20% of the population) were landless, while only 4,000 people owned almost 80% of Irish land. Successive Westminster administrations viewed the Famine through the lens of eliminating Ireland's dependence on the potato — and an opportunity to civilise its poor. Charles Trevelyan, a treasury secretary who's often portrayed as arch villain of the Great Hunger, characterised the humanitarian crisis as a 'sharp but effectual remedy' to 'cure' the problem of Irish backwardness. Tellingly, he published his account of the Famine in 1848, just over halfway through the event. Scanlan is an associate professor at the University of Toronto. Reinterpreting history is a hallmark of the Canadian's approach and a refrain in the author's two previous books, both of which focused on the British slave trade. Scanlan adopts a similar angle in Rot and balances wide research into the politics and economy of Famine Ireland with unsettling closeups of starvation. From contemporary accounts, we glimpse the extent of the devastation: people eating wild birds' eggs, rotting carrion, grass, moss, dirt, worms, cats, dogs, and rats. But his didactic analysis is a blunt instrument to untangle the complexities of the era. Likewise, Scanlan's suggestion that current societal problems, such as gaping inequality, exorbitant rents, and insecure employment, echo the anxieties of pre-Famine Ireland is a misstep. In 1861, the Irish nationalist John Mitchel wrote: 'the Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the famine'. Rot revisits the question of British responsibility because 'blame matters'. The British government didn't intentionally starve Ireland during the Famine, Scanlan admits, but 'it was not innocent'. No country in Europe was affected as profoundly as Ireland by the 1840s potato blight. In Belgium, the potato failure caused a severe food crisis, but from 1846 to 1856 the population increased by 200,000. Ultimately, Scanlan identifies the ideologies underpinning Britain's reaction to the Irish Famine as the lynchpin. 'Colonialism and capitalism created conditions that turned blight into famine.' Scanlan's arguments lack the rigour to always convince, but they make Rot a provocative read. Read More Book review: Fleeing Famine and oppression for the land of opportunity
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
DSO - Brahms and Mataatua: A Journey in Music
Brahms's monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 was written when his compositional powers were at their peak. From a deceptively benign opening with a lone horn melody, the movements in turn evoke grace and turmoil, leading to an exhilarating climax. Acclaimed Wellington pianist Jian Liu returns to deliver the dazzling technique and musical depth this great work calls for. We celebrate Matariki with The Journey of Mataatua Whare, a newly commissioned work by Dame Gillian Whitehead which commemorates 100 years since the Mataatua Wharenui returned to NZ. The work tells the Wharenui's story: from the carved meeting house's creation in Whakatāne, the loss of Ngāti Awa control over it, its travels and mistreatment, its return to NZ for Dunedin/Ōtepoti's 1925 Great Exhibition and then Tūhura Otago Museum, and its final return to Ngāti Awa in Whakatāne. Three distinguished NZ singers and a selected chorus will join DSO's Principal Guest Conductor James Judd on stage for this very special event. For more information please visit | Brahms and Mataatua a Journey in Music
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Stand-out historical novels to read now: The Pretender By Jo Harkin, The Golden Hour By Kate Lord Brown, The Midnight Carousel By Fiza Saeed McLynn
The Pretender By Jo Harkin (Bloomsbury £18.99, 464pp) It's 1480, and England is undergoing a particularly thorny patch as the warring factions of Lancaster and York look to the throne, fight bloody battles, imprison princes in the tower and indulge in mayhem and machinations in the quest for power. Meanwhile in a quiet little hamlet, naive, endearing ten-year-old farmer's son John Collan is about to have his life upended. He's taken from his home by canny political operators and transformed into Lambert Simnel, a pseudonym for his 'real' identity – Edward Plantagenet, who'll become king of England once Henry VII is disposed of. Ambitious, mischievous and well written, Jo Harkin's stand-out second novel's boldly drawn characters and their ruthless aspirations make for an entertaining read. The Golden Hour By Kate Lord Brown (Simon and Schuster £18.99, 448pp) Heady and romantic, Kate Lord Brown's escapist tale heads to 1939 Cairo in the company of gilded, headstrong Juno Munro and handsome, intuitive Max Aeberhardt as they search for the tomb of the legendary queen Nefertiti on an archaeological dig. Heat, dust and forbidden passion play their part in this swoony story, but there's also a stalwart friendship alongside the sexual tension – one based on long-held secrets, as Lucie Fitzgerald discovers when she visits her dying mother Polly in 1970s Beirut. Best friends with Juno since childhood, Polly slowly unspools the tragic story of Juno, her whirlwind marriage to troubled Alec and her overwhelming obsession with Max who, like an old-style Hollywood hero, declares of their love: 'We redraw the maps. We realign the stars' with the Valley of the Kings as a backdrop. The Midnight Carousel By Fiza Saeed McLynn (Michael Joseph £16.99, 368pp) There's a dark, magical glimmer to this enthralling debut from Fiza Saeed McLynn, which opens in 1900 in a foundry workshop in Paris as grieving carousel maker Gilbert Cloutier hurries to finish his beautiful, uncanny masterpiece in time for the city's Great Exhibition. Ensconced in the wilds of Essex, living in rural poverty, outsider Maisie Marlowe is fascinated by a flyer for the mysterious carousel, little realising that it'll play a central role in her intrepid story. In a series of quietly discombobulating events, she ends up in prohibition-era Chicago, helping to run an amusement park, where Cloutier's strange merry-go-round seems linked to the unsolved disappearances of people in both France and America. It adds an eerie edge to an already beguiling tale of a brave woman claiming her hard-won happiness against the odds.
