V&A strike over ‘Amazon-style’ conditions

Friday 31 July 2026

What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage

Scroll for: Top stories 🚨 | UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️

Happy Friday.

The most eye-opening revelation for me — among many — was that the Hindenburg had a smoking lounge.

Oh, they knew the dangers: there was a dedicated member of staff in charge of the single lighter allowed on board. But this was the 1930s, and nothing got in the way of a ciggie. Not even 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen.

The Hindenburg’s smoking lounge is among a number of the passenger spaces from the ship that have been painstakingly recreated down to the last detail at the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen in Germany. (The town is the birthplace of the airship and its most-famous, doomed vessel).

Visitors can walk up the stairway, just like passengers did to begin their transatlantic flights. You see the saloon, the toilets, the sleeping cabins — and that remarkable smoking room. It’s a snapshot of cutting edge 1930s luxury design, but with an eerie sense of foreboding in the air, even for a reconstruction.

The Zeppelin Museum itself — located in the town’s harbour on Lake Constance — is brilliant. I was engrossed with its fascinating displays on a subject I knew little about.

I was equally engrossed at another museum across the lake (and in another country), but for a different reason.

The Kunsthaus in the Austrian city of Bregenz is one of the most stunning interiors I’ve seen in a modern art gallery. Opened in 1997, it’s hosted exhibitions by every global artist you’ve ever heard of. It’s the absolute definition of minimalist design — the building soaks up the light from the lakeside outside and brings it into the polished concrete interiors. It feels like you’re in outer space.

Yet, while the Kunsthaus Bregenz felt like going forward in time, a half hour train-ride away and you’re definitely going back.

In the city of St Gallen — this one in Switzerland, keep up! — is the truly remarkable Abbey Library. The current Rococo masterpiece dates from the 18th century, but the library’s origins go all the way back to 612 AD, making it one of the oldest in the world. 400 of its 170,000 books pre-date the Bayeux Tapestry.

It’s part of the wider Abbey of St Gall which for over 1,200 years was one of the most important religious and cultural sites in Europe. Today it’s a UNESCO world heritage site, in the heart of the beautiful medieval city. I was absolutely charmed by the whole place.

Before my trip, I certainly did not know all these cultural treats existed around Lake Constance — called Bodensee by locals — nor that they can all be seen on one break.

And there’s far more to see than my word count here will allow, but all trips to this stunning corner of the continent should also include the tiny island of Lindau (with it’s picturesque old town), the medieval castle at Meersburg, and the buzzy city of Konstanz with its nearby tulip-island of Mainau.

Fly into Zurich, and trains, buses and boats will take you all around the lake across three countries. Get the Bodensee Card PLUS for ferries and entry to 160 attractions, and the Bodensee Ticket for unlimited public transport.

And best of all when you visit, no matter where you are on the shore, you get to look out across the vast, stunning lake itself. From sunrise to sunset, it’s Mother Nature at her best. In the heart of Europe, but close to heaven.

• I was a guest of the Tourist Board of Lake Constance

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Staff across the V&A’s London museums have voted for strike action.

Trade union Prospect says staff who facilitate the Order an object service at V&A East Storehouse are subjected to “unacceptable ‘Amazon-style’ conditions” that see them denied sufficient time for toilet breaks or for hydration. Prospect is demanding two additional paid breaks a day for these staff, who have voted unanimously to strike.

A wider dispute across all V&A venues has seen 83% of staff supporting strikes. For this dispute, Prospect is seeking a minimum 4% pay rise for staff earning above the living wage, time-and-a-half for bank holiday working, and accreditation as a London living wage employer within 12 months.

Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy said the refusal to give additional breaks to Storehouse staff “is part of a pattern with V&A showing a shocking lack of respect to its employees and fighting fairness at every turn.”

The V&A said “all our staff have access to water and toilet facilities and regular breaks while at work.” On pay they said” “our offer sees a 3.6% increase in the overall pay bill, an above inflation pay award as a minimum, and 6.9% increase for our lowest paid colleagues.” (Read more)

The National Glass Centre in Sunderland has closed for good today after nearly 30 years of operation. Owners Sunderland University plan to demolish it after saying necessary repair costs — which they estimate are between £14m to £45m — are too high.

Campaigners trying to save the museum dispute the estimates, believing repairs can be achieved for £6-8m. They accuse the university of ignoring potential funding opportunities.

But uni bosses have said the venue has lost money every year since they took it over after a major refurb in 2013 — the biggest being £1.1m in 2014/15. They’re now trying to block a recent application to have the centre’s building listed by Historic England.

Campaigner Carolyn Basing said “The 1,352 year-old tradition of glassmaking in Sunderland is ending at the hands of a university that wants the land for development.” She added: “If the university is successful it will have perpetrated the most disgraceful act of cultural vandalism by destroying a highly inclusive publicly funded, public asset for its own economic gain.” (Read more)

Burberry trench in V&A spotlight 🧥
A display dedicated to the story of the Burberry trench coat will open at the V&A this September. The beige “fashion staple” will be explored through rare materials from both the Burberry archive and the V&A collection, and shown in the Prince Consort Gallery which once stored fabrics from the textile collection. The fashion brand have already paid for naming rights of the museum’s fashion gallery, which will reopen from extensive renovation next autumn. (Read more)

Will Reform scrap Wakefield’s new museum? 🚨
Plans for a new museum in Wakefield look like being scrapped after the newly-elected Reform UK council leader said “Who wants yet another museum?” The previous Labour administration had planned a new venue as part of a regeneration scheme. But in a recent meeting, the Reform’s culture spokesperson echoed the leader, saying “we don’t need another museum in the town.” Opposition councillors have accused them of making the decision before the public consultation on the plans close next month. (Read more)

Bannockburn centre closing for £3m upgrade ⚔️
The visitor centre at the historic Battle of Bannockburn site will close for nearly two years from October, for a £3m renovation. The National Trust for Scotland says “it is vital that we continue to develop both the visitor experience and the facilities to the standard that a site of such significance merits.” The battle grounds themselves will remain accessible throughout. The news comes just a week after the Trust confirmed they believe “aspects of the site currently fall short of the standard [expected].” (Read more)

Bicester brings Beryl to buyers 🛍️
The Beryl Cook renaissance continues. After Plymouth’s record-breaking retrospective at the Box, the much-loved artist’s work will take over, er, discount shopping park Bicester Village! A mile-long open-air installation featuring life-size cutout characters and large-scale murals from the artist’s paintings will be installed on the site (it’s one of Britain’s most popular tourist destinations FYI). House of Voltaire will also create a pop-up shop selling prints, original artworks and homeware inspired by Cook.

UAE 🇦🇪
Twenty years after it was first announced, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will finally open its doors on 11 December. It’s the biggest of the four museums in the Guggenheim’s global network, and it’ll focus on post-1960 art across 30 galleries. As yet though, no specific artworks have been revealed as going on show. Designed by Frank Gehry (who died last year), it’ll be one of the final projects of Saadiyat Island, the multi-billion-dollar cultural district in the city. (Read more)

Greece 🇬🇷
The ‘home’ of the ancient Greek gods, Mount Olympus, has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s Greece’s highest peak and the seat of Zeus, and has been listed in recognition of its cultural and natural significance, including its role in the writings of Hesiod and Homer. Also among the 25 new listings were all five D-Day beaches. The Normandy region’s president said the move “compels us to preserve this property…to cherish it even more, and to promote its value." (Read more)

USA 🇺🇸
President Trump issued an executive order mandating that temporary signage is installed outside the National Museum of American History in Washington, "warning" visitors about "the Ideological Capture" of the venue. The order references a 162-page White House report accusing the museum of undermining “faith in American institutions.” The order says the signage should direct visitors to other sites with displays more pleasing to the administration (Read more)

Ireland 🇮🇪
An employee of the National Museum of Ireland has been remanded in custody following charges of possession of an explosive device after last week’s high-profile discovery of a car bomb being driven towards Northern Ireland from the Republic. At a late-night bail application, the High Court heard that Simon O’Donovan, 44, is alleged to have stored the explosive device in the confines of Dublin’s National Museum at Collins’ Barracks where he worked. (Read more)

USA 🇺🇸
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has revealed an eye-watering $10m deficit for the financial year that’s just ended, almost double the $5m shortfall from the previous year. Bosses predict the deficit will not shrink this year either, and could even grow to $15.9m. The news follows the museum’s disastrous rebrand and the ousting of director Sasha Suda. New director Daniel Weiss (the former Met boss) says the financial black hole is “substantial, but solvable.” (Read more)

Lottery cash unlocks storage construction
Construction can now begin on The Art Works, National Galleries of Scotland’s major open-access storage facility, thanks to a new £8.5m donation from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It follows a £56m grant from the Scottish government. (Full story)

Finance fears at another glass museum
Another glass heritage venue is under threat as Stourbridge’s Glass Museum has issued a funding warning. The £6m venue only opened in 2022, but director Alexander Goodger says “we really need support over the next couple of years if we’re to continue.” (Full story)

Museum’s designer chairs stolen
All 88 designer chairs from the cafe terrace of Maastricht’s Bonnefanten Museum — collectively worth €21,500 — have been stolen. The manager said CCTV shows thieves at 4am “completely at ease, stacking all 88 chairs and walking back and forth calmly several times.” (Full story)

Music. Fashion. Film. Photography
Brat will forever be immortalised at the National Portrait Gallery, as it’s acquired a photograph of Charli xcx. Shot by British photographer Harley Weir for her hit 2024 album, it’s gone on show in the History Makers gallery. (Full story)

👀 Last edition’s most clicked stories:
🥇 Curator Jessica Morgan takes Tate’s top job — and a pay cut
🥈 BBC’s Fake or Fortune uncovers ‘enormously important’ painting worth £100,000
🥉 Ruth Mackenzie named as government’s new minister for the arts

📊 Last week’s poll results | Are you happy Lisa Nandy remains culture secretary in the new government?

Yes 👍 14%
Mixed feelings 🤔 27%
Absolutely not 👎 59% 🏆

🗳️ This week’s poll |