With September in full swing, this month’s masterclass was a chance for our community to explore the world of art curation at the Rising Voices exhibition. Home to over 2.8 million objects, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is a powerful emblem for creativity. As the UK’s national museum of art, design and performance, it also offers a fascinating insight into the many careers and creative opportunities within the cultural sector.
We began the evening with Catherine Nicholson, senior producer for Young People at the V&A, who shared more about the museum’s work with young audiences and shared opportunities to develop creative skills.
Creating opportunities for young people
The V&A’s Young People’s programme supports people aged 26 and under, offering opportunities to develop creative skills, make connections and engage with the museum. One example is the Youth Collective, which opens applications each August to people aged 24 and under. Participants gain experience in areas including event production while getting to know the museum from an insider perspective.
Catherine also shared more about Upstart, the V&A’s careers festival, alongside courses and events spanning areas including dance, photography and more. From showcasing work in the museum to connecting at events, there are a variety of ways for young people to explore creative careers in the museums and galleries sector.
Exploring Rising Voices
We then joined Daniel Slater, curator of Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific, for an introduction to the exhibition before exploring it through a private viewing.
Developed in collaboration with the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia, Rising Voices brings together contemporary art from across a vast geographical and cultural region. A central theme runs throughout the exhibition: contemporary art cannot be separated from migration, colonisation, ecological anxiety, conflict and spirituality. Rather than presenting contemporary art as a single story, Rising Voices explores the many artistic languages and experiences emerging across Asia, Australia and the Pacific.
Reimagining history and tradition
The exhibition explores how artists respond to histories of colonisation, migration and conflict. Michael Parekowhai ‘s The Grand Entrance, for example, uses security guards and swipe cards to create a confrontational figure drawing on Māori visual culture, to challenge ideas around access, belonging and representation.
Elsewhere, ceremonial traditions are reinterpreted through contemporary practice, demonstrating how historic cultural knowledge can be carried forward while continuing to evolve.
The Re-Visioning History section looks more closely at colonial histories. One work intervenes in a historical map of a Sri Lankan fort once controlled by Dutch powers, reminding us that maps are not neutral objects – they can reflect systems of power and ownership.
Another painting responds to the Bougainville Civil War and the conflict surrounding a foreign-owned copper and gold mine, reflecting the disparity between communities and drawing attention to a history that remains relatively unknown outside the region.
For Daniel, this is one of the works that stands out the most.
“We have so much access to information, yet there are really serious things happening we don’t know about.” – Daniel Slater, exhibition curator
Enduring knowledge
The exhibition also challenges the idea that tradition is static. Jewellery, miniature painting, body adornment, weaving and textiles work together to demonstrate how artists continue to adapt cultural knowledge through contemporary practice.
One striking work by an Afghan artist depicts a wooden boat carrying asylum seekers, evoking migration, displacement and asylum politics. Elsewhere, repurposed woven bags and materials from prisons demonstrate the wide spectrum of experiences and materials that contemporary art can emerge from.
The final section, Evolving Faith, explores spirituality, religious imagery and ceremonial traditions. Contemporary Mongolian painters combine Buddhist imagery with local visual languages, creating works that reward what Daniel described as ‘slow looking’ – the act of taking time to sit with an artwork and notice its different layers.
Behind the exhibition
During the Q&A, Daniel peeled back the curtain on what it takes to curate an exhibition of this scale.
Getting Rising Voices to the V&A involved considerable lobbying and advocacy, following years of hugely successful commercial exhibitions. The project required the museum to take a risk by showcasing work that UK audiences may be less familiar with, creating a rare opportunity to see such a breadth of art from the region together.
The project was also highly collaborative. Daniel explained that the team spent significant time in the region, working alongside curators and regional experts, before getting the project off the ground.
“The only way to learn is to be on the ground. Without that, it wouldn’t be possible.” – Daniel Slater, exhibition curator
As Daniel explained, no one person can be an expert in multiple regional art scenes. Instead, the team relied on shared expertise, asking what they wanted to communicate with the public and which works would have the greatest impact.
Exploring the exhibition
Following the talks and Q&A, our community explored Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific through a private viewing.
Open until 10 January 2027, the exhibition brings together contemporary art exploring migration, colonisation, conflict, Indigenous knowledge, spirituality and identity.
For our community, the evening offered not only an insight into a major exhibition, but a look at the many different careers within the cultural sector and the importance of creating opportunities for people to explore them.
A huge thank you to Catherine Nicholson and Daniel Slater for sharing their insight with our community, and to the V&A for welcoming us for such an insightful evening.
Interested in joining a Creative Access masterclass? Register with us today and keep an eye out for our upcoming events. We can’t wait to say hi!
