Exhibition Road Pedestrianised for a Day of Celebrations for Opening of V&A Exhibition Road Quarter

Today, 20 June, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) announces the full programme for REVEAL, a free, week-long public festival running from 30 June to 7 July 2017.

REVEAL celebrates the opening of the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter, the largest architectural project undertaken by the Museum in over 100 years. Designed by Stirling Prize-winning British architect Amanda Levete and her practice AL_A, the Exhibition Road Quarter will create major new spaces that will transform the V&A's relationship with the public and its neighbouring institutions on Exhibition Road.

The festival will mark the opening of these extraordinary new spaces, bringing together a host of cultural commissions to explore the heritage, modernity and technology of the V&A. Festival contributions from the Museum's 'Albertopolis' neighbours highlight this historic moment for the V&A and the broader South Kensington area, as it enters the next 100 years of its history.

Throughout REVEAL, visitors to the V&A will have the opportunity to visit the newly unveiled spaces:

• The Sainsbury Gallery: a versatile, 1,100m sq column-free exhibition space purpose-built for the V&A's world-leading programme of temporary exhibitions. REVEAL provides a unique opportunity for the public to experience the Gallery before it closes to be transformed for the exhibition programme.
• The Sackler Courtyard: the world's first all-porcelain public courtyard, inspired by the rich tradition of ceramics at the V&A.
• The Blavatnik Hall: a new entrance into the V&A that will transform how visitors experience and discover the Museum and collections.

On Saturday 1 July, Exhibition Road will be pedestrianised for a day of cultural programming. Crossing the boundaries between art, architecture and science, spectacular floating Aerocene sculptures will fly high above Exhibition Road. Activated by only the heat of the sun, these beautiful air-fuelled sculptures reach up to five metres in size. Depending on the weather, Aerocene will fly high above Exhibition Road on Saturday 1 July. The Aerocene project is initiated by renowned artist Tomás Saraceno, and developed by a non-profit Aerocene Foundation that unites a global community of researchers, activists, thinkers and technologists. There will be two Aerocene Explorers from the Saraceno Studio, and a Museo Aero Solar participative sculpture created by local school children with the children and young people's organisation, Epic CIC. The public will also be able to contribute to the making of Museo Aero Solar, bringing plastic bags for inclusion in the work, which will be flown at a later date.

At night, the historic Museum façades surrounding the new Sackler Courtyard will be transformed as Ron Arad, Zandra Rhodes, Jonathan Barnbrook, Greenaway & Greenaway, Toru Ishii and Leyla Reynolds 'draw with light' on the Museum's walls. Part of an evening illumination cycle realised by Greenaway & Greenaway in collaboration with the V&A, the artworks will reference the V&A and its many collections.

The new Sainsbury Gallery will host immersive light and sound installations. Artist Simon Heijdens' Shade will create a unique experience of augmented natural light, filtering sunlight from the Gallery's Oculus skylight into a kaleidoscope of light and shadow.

Along with viol player Liam Byrne's work the site-specific commissions will create a dialogue with the new architecture. Designer Jonathan Olivares' Aluminium Bench will provide a resting place for visitors within The Sainsbury Gallery, as he presents a twelve-metre long bench which curves through the space.

Music and performance will play a significant role in the festival, with award-winning hip hop choreographer Botis Seva creating a special commission for alumni from the National Youth Dance Company, the country's flagship youth dance company run by Sadler's Wells. The New Young Voice Collective, resident youth choir at Stratford Circus Arts Centre, brings together some of East London's most talented young musicians in a dynamic programme of training and performance opportunities. This open access youth choir of singers aged 10-18 will perform a series of modern and South African a cappella arrangements in the new Sackler Courtyard.

Boiler Room, the global online music platform, will stream live from a special Friday Late, the V&A's long-standing late night event. Exploring a dynamic programme of experimental sounds, this will include an original piece of music by Overmono (XL Recordings) with dance choreographed by English National Ballet; live performances from KOKOROKO and Hejira; spoken word from Jehst, James Massiah, Durrty Goodz, and many more; plus DJs from Bone Soda, From The Depths, Heels & Souls, No Bad Days, Body Motion and Tiff's Joints.

In the spirit of Albertopolis, the Victorian vision for a city of arts and sciences in South Kensington, the V&A is also collaborating on a range of events and activities supporting the REVEAL theme throughout the Museum with partners from across Exhibition Road. The Royal Albert Hall's Albert Band will march from Princes Gate Mews to the V&A, while the Royal College of Music will bring to life the Museum's Norfolk House Music Room. Family and young people's programming will allow visitors to 'hold a cloud' and explore wearable tech with Imperial College scientists, construct a 'Stego-jigsaw-rus' with Natural History Museum staff. Science Museum family programming at V&A will give visitors aged seven and up to experiment with their own 'Doodle Bugs', to create doodling masterpieces.

Festival activity announced today joins programming previously announced, including new pieces and highlights from previous collections by British designer Molly Goddard for a special Fashion in Motion; a special performance by Julie Cunningham & Company responding to Yoko Ono's 'Dance Pieces'; an ambitious new hybrid opera by Anat Ben-David with art direction and costume by Boudicca and musical performances with the Royal College of Music and the Royal Albert Hall's Albert's Band.

Further details on individual commissions is outlined below.

Full listings of events and activities is available on the Museum's website, www.vam.ac.uk/reveal

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, says: "The REVEAL festival looks set to be a high point of the London summer - a wonderful way to celebrate the biggest moment for the V&A in a century. From flying sculptures down Exhibition Road to light installations on the Victorian walls of our buildings, the festival will bring the architecture to life. This is an incredible moment for visitors new and old to enjoy London's most elegant and exciting museum in a brand new space on Exhibition Road. We're really pleased that so many diverse cultural activities will be available for free over the opening week, and that our South Kensington neighbours are joining us to revive the spirit of 'Albertopolis'."

Catherine Ince, of the V&A's REVEAL Festival curatorial team, comments: "The V&A's REVEAL Festival marks the opening of the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter. It has been thrilling to collaborate with artists and practitioners from across art, design, music, performance, and fashion to create site-specific works inspired by the V&A's new architecture and collections. REVEAL celebrates the best of contemporary creativity and invites you in to explore and experience the V&A's collections, architecture, history and heritage in new and surprising ways."

Full events listings available at www.vam.ac.uk/REVEAL.