Resonant Matter

Resonant Matter explores the spaces and scenes where music, fashion and community come together. Told through archival storytelling and immersive installations, the exhibition traces a path from pirate radio and street protests to sound‑system culture and club nights, revealing the many ways music and fashion influence one another when people come together in shared spaces.

In these spaces, looks and sounds collide to spark new styles and new forms of expression. Resonant Matter brings these exchanges into focus, to reveal how sound and fashion move together in everyday life to shape identities, build communities and create moments of collective resonance across our great city.

Visitors will encounter objects, installations and pieces from external and community collaborators including Jason Jules, the Sir Collins Archive, Tim and Barry, The Deosil and Widdershin Soundsystem and UAL’s Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice.

Resonant Matter is part of The Music is Black Festival, an East Bank‑wide programme of events, performances, dance, screenings and more taking place across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from April – November 2026, celebrating the V&A East Museum’s inaugural exhibition, The Music is Black: A British Story.