V&A's COO to speak at Future Cities Forum's creative cities and innovation event at Here East

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Tim Reeve, Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the world's leading museum of art, design and performance, will join Future Cities Forum's all day event at Here East in September. Tim has held the Deputy Director position since 2013.

Tim takes a strategic and operational overview of all museum activities, as well as directly leading the divisions responsible for the V&A's commercial and digital activities, exhibitions, FuturePlan, finance and resources, marketing and communications, security and visitor experience. He also leads the V&A's partnership with China Merchant's Group, which saw the creation of the new V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shenzhen, China, which opened in December 2017, and on the V&A's wider international strategy. Tim is also leading the development of a new 'V&A East' in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, East London, which will see a new research and collections centre alongside major new permanent gallery and exhibition spaces, as part of the East Bank cultural and educational legacy.

Before joining the V&A, Tim was Director of Historic Properties at English Heritage, responsible for the management of the 420 historic properties which make up the National Heritage Collection. His remit covered all aspects of the visitor experience, the long-term capital programme, and maintenance and conservation of the historic estate.

Tim is a graduate in Ancient History from Royal Holloway, University of London, and studied at the Institute of Archaeology (UCL) and INSEAD on its International Executive Programme. He has also served as a trustee of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) and the National Memorial Arboretum. Currently he is a trustee of Painting in Hospitals and the Canal and River Trust, and a member of the Hunterian Strategic Development Board.

One of the world's most significant new museum projects, V&A East will comprise two sister sites currently under construction in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.

The V&A states:

'Opening at Here East in 2025, V&A East Storehouse offers a new immersive experience, taking visitors behind the scenes and providing unprecedented public access to V&A collections. A short walk across the park, also opening in 2025, V&A East Museum celebrates global creativity and making relevant to today’s world. Both sites are part of East Bank, the Mayor of London's £1.1 billion Olympic legacy project, which will create a new arts, innovation and education hub in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

'V&A East builds on the V&A's long-standing heritage in east London and our founding mission to make the arts accessible to all. V&A East is a new champion of creativity for the 21st century. Through the lens of makers and making, we will focus on how artists and designers work to transform our world for the better. We will platform diverse, global stories addressing the most pressing issues of our time and champion the pioneering and radical visionaries of the past and present to inspire future makers and critical thinkers.

'As a platform for new kinds of creative excellence, V&A East will strive to shift the canon and celebrate work that truly demonstrates the dynamism and complexity of global creativity. We will showcase excellence wherever it comes from and work to highlight under-represented movements and voices by presenting a diverse range of perspectives to advance cultural conversations.

'Exploring global making histories and the myriad motivations to make will unite all our programming: from collection galleries to the blockbuster exhibitions focused on global visionaries; from interdisciplinary partnerships across the East Bank campus and beyond to rich and dynamic public programmes, which will activate V&A East and provide a platform for conversation, collaboration and inspiring encounters with artists, designers and makers from around the world.

'More than just a museum or collections store, it will be a creative campus and social space embedded within its local community, focusing on equipping young people with the interest, knowledge, and skills they need to flourish creatively.

Connecting with communities

'Fundamental to V&A East is empowering young people and opening pathways into the creative industries. Highlights of the pre-opening initiatives include the V&A East Youth Collective Programme. This rolling 6-month paid opportunity for locals aged between 16 and 25 plays a key role in shaping strategic decisions in the making of V&A East. As part of an ongoing programme of collaborative research with VARI, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, interdisciplinary design collective RESOLVE has been appointed as V&A East's first Youth Workers in Residence to help shape V&A East's future youth programming. RESOLVE has been working with organisations to run a series of creative workshops exploring young people's connection to their local area as an opportunity for creative practice. Their work will culminate in a series of installations, designed and delivered on locations across the Olympic boroughs in collaboration with the young people.'