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UCL East and V&A East sign MoU to collaborate on education, research, and community engagement

23 September 2020

At a virtual event on 22 September 2020, UCL and the V&A signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), formalising a long-standing collaborative partnership between the two organisations.

Teacher explains Egyptian artefact to group of students

As the founding partners of East Bank, the new cultural and educational district emerging in east London, UCL and the V&A have been working closely together since the early 2010s. Other world-renowned organisations Sadler’s Wells, the BBC and the UAL’s London College of Fashion have joined since.

The MoU marks an important milestone in UCL East and V&A East’s partnership, recognising the synergies between both organisations’ mission and shared areas of interest. The two institutions will collaborate on a number of conservation programmes looking at the challenges of preserving contemporary art and the built environment. Exploring further the industrial and social heritage of the area together, they will enable each other to reach and engage with new audiences.

Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE, the new director of V&A East, shared his enthusiasm about the partnership entering a new phase: "V&A and UCL share a similar drive to engage people who otherwise might not have had opportunities in education and the arts, and I can’t think of a better partner to work with on these initiatives."

Professor Paola Lettieri, Director of UCL East, said: "UCL has a number of long-standing relationships with the V&A, and with this MoU we are taking the next step in our collaboration. At UCL East we have now put together an exciting set of programmes and it is exciting to think about what we can do, together with V&A East, in terms of co-creation of knowledge with the local community, but also in terms of bridging education and research, theory and practice."