Friday Late
The original contemporary late night event
Live performances, cutting-edge fashion, debates, one-off displays and installations, special guests, bar and food, guest DJs, late-night exhibition opening.
Held on the last Friday in every month (except December) from 18.30 - 22.00. All Friday Late activities are free.
White Nights
Friday 31 May
18.30 - 22.00
Join us for a Russian-style White Nights festival and celebrate the summer evenings with a carnival atmosphere and an eclectic mix of contemporary music, art and performance.
All events are free and places designated on a first come, first served basis, unless stated otherwise. Filming and photography will be taking place at this event.
Here is a taster of what to expect, the full programme of events will be available soon.
Music and Performance
Nico de Transilvania and Microchunk
Native born Transilvanian DJ Nico de Transilvania blends Balkan sounds, gypsy folk songs, brass and swing bass lines with a heavy electronic beat, accompanied with visuals by Todd Graft from Microchunk.
Never Mind The Cossacks
Peek behind the Iron Curtain with DJ Alpen von Blond as she spins a multitude of platters from the Soviet proletariat, the Imperialist West and some of our Eastern Bloc neighbours. Don't be a Red Square, be hot to Trotsky!
Alexander Ardakov
Experience a performance by leading pianist Alexander Ardakov in the stunning Raphael gallery.
Songs of the Steppes
Join Polina Skovoroda-Shepherd and her Russian Choir performing choral music in modern arrangements inspired by the galleries and architecture of the Museum.
Cossack Show
Famous for its unrivalled energy and high spirits, get caught up in a contagiously catchy Russian and Ukrainian Cossack dance performance.
Talks
Remarkable Russia
Join photographer Richard Davies and V&A curator Dr Tessa Murdoch to discuss tales of survival and preservation.
Calvert Journal
Join Calvert Journal, a daily briefing on the culture and creativity of modern Russia, for a short talk and discussion.
Installations
Constructivist Playground
Wander into an interactive installation by designers Isabel Gibson and Helen Chesner, celebrating the Russian Constructivist design movement in which assorted geometric shapes are combined into abstract structural forms.
Miniature Armoire
Witness the transient mystery of Goldsmiths graduate Esme Toler’s kinetic sculpture.
Project and Protect!
Visit the spectacular Medieval and Renaissance Galleries to admire photographer Richard Davies’ beautiful projections of Russia’s fragile and fast-disappearing historic wooden churches.
Workshops and demonstrations
Make-ryoshka
Take on your comrades in this competitive making workshop with illustrator Alexa Galea. Work as a team to create a series of ever smaller paper matryoshka until the task becomes impossibly infinitesimal.
Paper and Light
Experiment with model making techniques and join designer Yemi Awosile in creating an installation of suspended shapes, loosely inspired by Russian and Balkan textiles.
Heaven meets Earth
Watch Iconographer Irina Bradley as she demonstrates the remarkable and intricate process of icon painting, to include the making of shell gold and gold gilding.
Cossack Dancers
Prepare for the Cossack Dancer performance in the Garden by learning some of the moves yourself!
Screenings
Rekhen, 2009
Shot between the mountain villages of Tsada and Ahalchi, in the republic of Dagestan, RCA MA Fine Art student Taus Makhacheva’s silent film explores local nature, traditional cultural symbols and social integration.
Forthcoming Friday Lates
- Dalston Takeover (28th June)
- Peckham Takeover (26th July)
- The World of Minecraft (30th August)
View images from some of our previous Friday Late events on our Flickr photostream
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MasterCard is delighted to be partnering with Friday Late at the V&A, where each month we will be hosting the MasterCard Cocktail Bar exclusively for cardholders. There will be discounted drinks and other fantastic offers to redeem on the night when you use your MasterCard. If you haven’t already, you can sign up on www.pricelesslondon.co.uk and take advantage of all the latest London offers and special events. Come see us in gallery 116 accessed by the staircase beside the main entrance.
A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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