From Royal Albert Wharf to V&A East: A Tour of V&A East Storehouse and Museum with Laura Wilson
Monday 17th August 2026 , 10:30am to 12:30pm
Royal Albert Wharf residents are invited to a guided tour of the V&A Storehouse and V&A East Musuem. This visit includes Laura Wilson’s new commission Heads! Look to the Workers (2026), one of six inaugural commissions for the newly opened V&A East Museum, which honours east London’s workers and makers.
Join Bow Arts and artist Laura Wilson for a special guided visit to V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum, developed for residents of Royal Albert Wharf. Following Wilson’s 2024 V&A East x Bow Arts Fellowship and her return to Royal Albert Wharf in 2026, this event offers an opportunity to encounter two connected bodies of work that trace east London’s histories of labour, industry, and making.
The visit will begin at V&A East Storehouse with an introduction from Georgia Haseldine, Senior Curator at V&A East Storehouse. Here, attendees will see Overalls (2024), a garment created by Wilson in collaboration with womenswear designer Geaorgia Gough during the 2024 Fellowship.
The tour will then continue to the newly opened V&A East Museum, where Wilson’s new commission Heads! Look to the Workers (2026) is installed in the Entrance Gallery, outside the How We Make Gallery. One of six inaugural commissions for the museum, the work consists of three moving sculptures that honour east London’s makers and workers, drawing on often-unseen histories of labour in theatres, factories and women’s workwear.
Together, the storehouse display and museum commission reveal how Wilson’s Fellowship research has grown into a wider exploration of east London’s industrial past and present. The visit invites Royal Albert Wharf residents to see how local materials, archives, conversations and histories have shaped Wilson’s practice, and to reflect on the area’s continuing transformation from a landscape of docks, factories and construction sites into a place where new cultural and working histories are being made.
For more on Laura Wilson’s research and time at Bow Arts, read our artist spotlight:
Artist Spotlight: Laura Wilson
Bow Arts interviews Laura Wilson about her new commission Heads! Look to the Workers (2026), one of six inaugural commissions for the recently opened V&A East museum.
The event will start at V&A East Storehouse, Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London E20 3AX.
Access Information
Please note, the group will be walking (13 minutes) from V&A East Storehouse to V&A East Museum at around 11:30am.
If you have any concerns or access requirements that you need in advance of attending, please email showie@bowarts.com
V&A East Storehouse
The entrance is step-free and wheelchair accessible.
There are lifts to take visitors to each level of the storehouse.
There are toilets on the ground, second and third floors
V&A East Museum
If you have any concerns or access requirements that you need in advance of attending, please email showie@bowarts.com
All V&A East Museum entrances are step-free and wheelchair accessible.
Accessible toilets are located on each floor, and baby changing facilities are available.
Buggy parking is available located on the Lower Ground floor. Personal belongings are left at your own risk.
Passenger lifts are located on each floor.
Transport Information
V&A East Storehouse, Parkes Street, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London E20 3AX
Nearest station(s): Hackney Wick Overground is 0.3 miles away (8-minute walk)
Stratford station is 0.9 miles away (20-minute walk)
Stratford International is 0.8 miles away (17-minute walk)
Bus: 388 bus stops outside Here East, Here East bus shuttles run from Stratford stations Monday-Friday, every 10 minutes 6:30am to 9pm
Parking: there is no designated Storehouse parking. There is limited on-street parking available for Blue Badge Holders and residential permit holders, however there is multi-storey parking available at Stratford International and Westfield Stratford City.
Bike: There are bike lanes throughout the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There are cycle racks and Santander Cycle docks on Parkes Street .
V&A East Museum, East Bank, 107 Carpenters Rd, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London E20 2AR
Nearest Station(s): Stratford underground and overground, National Rail and Stratford International station (all roughly 15 – 20 minutes’ walk away)
Bus: Many buses stop nearby at Stratford Station and the surrounding area (see here)
Bike: There is no bike parking directly in front of the museum, but there is some available to the side and at the back of the building, near Carpenters Road.
Parking: There is no parking provided or managed by the V&A. However, there is public Blue Badge parking on Carpenters Road, which is available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be booked.
