V&A Research Institute (VARI)
ActiveDescription
The V&A Research Institute (VARI) leads the research programmes of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the national museum of art, design and performance. It was established in 2016 with a transformational grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, building on the V&A's position as the first national museum to create a dedicated Research Department. VARI aims to develop new approaches to the understanding of material and visual culture and to explore how the collections can be brought to bear on pressing contemporary challenges.
It fosters interdisciplinary, object-led and museum-based research and learning across art, design and performance, running collaborative research projects (including provenance research into colonial and Nazi-era collections, contemporary and performative practices, and the history of the art market and antiques trade), an Arts and Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Partnership, and Early Career Research Fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions.
Currently active
Yes
Offers funding
Yes, this infrastructure provides funding in the following categories:
Founding year
2016
Contact details
Cromwell Road
London
SW7 2RL
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Parent infrastructure(s)
The V&A was the first museum in the world to establish a dedicated Research Department and it continues to be a core activity of the Museum today. It plays a leading role in binding together the f… read more about Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
London
SW7 2RL
United Kingdom
Partner Universities
Royal College of Art
University of Leeds
Last modified:
2026-07-12 20:58:22