Rising Voices at the V&A: Asia Pacific Art Exhibition Guide
A wet or sunny bank holiday Monday in Knightsbridge usually ends up in the same place: a short walk down Brompton Road to the V&A. This year there is a new reason to go. Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific opened in the Porter Gallery on 16 May and runs until 10 January 2027, which means there is no rush, but early visits tend to be the calmest before the summer holiday crowds arrive.
What the show is
Rising Voices is a collaboration between the V&A and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, and it draws on the gallery's long running Asia Pacific Triennial, first staged in 1993. The exhibition brings together more than 70 works by over 40 artists from 25 countries, spanning sculpture, painting, photography, ceramics, weaving and body adornment. First Nations perspectives sit at the centre of the story, and many of the works have not been shown in the UK before.
That breadth is the point. Rather than a neat survey of one movement, this is a show about how artists across a vast region have answered questions of identity, memory and place, often using materials and techniques passed down through generations.
Works and artists to look for
A few names are worth noting before you go, so you can slow down when you reach them:
- Ah Xian, whose porcelain busts are among the first things you will want to photograph. His China China series and Bust no.4 are among the most striking pieces.
- Takahiro Iwasaki, whose Reflection Model (Perfect Bliss) rewards close looking.
- Aline Amaru, represented by a tifaifai, the Tahitian appliqué quilt, made in 1991.
- Michael Parekōwhai, Brenda Fajardo, Naomi Hobson, Khadim Ali and Saira Wasim, among the other artists announced for the show.
For background on how the selection came together, the Country & Town House interview with the curator is a useful primer.
Making a day of it
Rising Voices pairs naturally with the rest of the museum. After the exhibition, the free permanent galleries are a few steps away, and the garden courtyard is the best place in South Kensington to sit with a coffee on a warm afternoon. If you prefer to visit after work, the museum stays open until 10pm on Fridays, which makes for a quieter, more grown-up viewing, and a natural prelude to dinner nearby. Our V&A guide has more on what else to see while you are there.
Tickets and getting there
Rising Voices is a paid exhibition, with concessions available and free entry for V&A Members, and advance booking is recommended at weekends. The museum is open daily from 10am to 5.45pm. Allow at least an hour for the exhibition itself, longer if you like to read every label. South Kensington station is closest via the pedestrian tunnel, or it is an easy fifteen minute stroll west along Brompton Road from Knightsbridge.
Lead image: ketrin1407 via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
