27 October 2026
The partnership between Design Society and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), which began in 2014, has come to a successful conclusion.
Over more than a decade, the partnership supported cultural exchange between China and the UK through exhibitions, research, learning programmes and public events. Highlights included the opening of the V&A Gallery at Design Society in 2017 with Values of Design, presenting more than 250 objects from the V&A’s collection and examining how values shape the way objects are designed and understood. This was followed in 2020 by Values of Design: China in the Making, initiated and curated by Design Society in collaboration with the V&A. Later that year, the V&A’s Fashioned from Nature exhibition opened at Design Society, accompanied by Fashioned from Nature in China: Then and Now, jointly presented with the China National Silk Museum. These projects connected the V&A’s collections and expertise with China’s design community and enabled audiences to explore design from China and around the world.
The two institutions are pleased to recognise the winners of the Design Values Award and celebrate their contributions to contemporary design. Design Society will administer and pay the cash prizes, with the amounts and payment arrangements communicated directly to the winners.
As part of the arrangements for concluding the partnership, the planned exhibitions of the winning works in London and Shenzhen will not take place. The former V&A Gallery will be managed and programmed independently by Design Society.
Both institutions thank the designers, colleagues, partners and audiences whose contributions have made the work of the partnership possible.
