V&A uses Museum of the Year winnings to fund design education 7 May 2017

The V&A has revealed that it will be spending its £100k winnings as Museum of the Year 2016 on a design education programme for 11 to 16 year olds, DesignLab Nation. The museum hopes it will fill the design skills gap in the UK as well as supporting the curriculum for the revised Design and Technology GCSE. The three-year secondary school programme will run in cities with a design and industrial heritage and in partnership with local museums. Confirmed locations include Coventry, Blackburn and Sheffield, with two further cities yet to be announced. V&A Director Tristram Hunt said “the V&A has a responsibility to protect and promote design education for the future. By bringing together local industry, museums and schools, DesignLab Nation will ensure that the V&A delivers on our founding purpose, to educate and inspire the artists, innovators, designers and creatives of tomorrow.” Each DesignLab Nation partnership will be delivered by specialists from local design practices and enhanced by loans from the V&A’s collections. BBC, V&A