Exhibition spotlighting lost UK music venues to open in London this weekend

After making a public call for material, the V&A exhibition will feature more than 100 objects from the Haçienda to Plastic People

An exhibition spotlighting lost music venues across the UK is set to launch this weekend at London’s V&A Museum in South Kensington.

Titled Lost Music Venues, the new exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, May 30, featuring over 100 objects including posters, photography and merch from around 50 UK venues. 

It follows a public call made last year asking Londoners to submit “artefacts and music ephemera” from closed venues in order to help the exhibition’s curation.

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Lost Music Venues will explore how live music spaces have helped to establish scenes and subcultures over the decades, and have built the careers of some of the UK’s biggest artists to date.

The display will also feature memorabilia like club membership cards, "subculture fashion staples", flyers and much more, with a specific section dedicated to the shuttered nightclubs of the ‘90s and 2000s including Glasgow’s The Arches and London’s The End.

Special pieces on display include handwritten Oasis lyrics from their tour bus, a pager used to monitor noise levels at the Haçienda, flyers from Plastic People, and the exterior sign from the Astoria London loaned by Damon Albarn.

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“Music venues – be they gig spaces or nightclubs – are not only the lifeblood of the music industry but an integral part of the creative sector,” says curator Harriet Reed.

“As sites of experimentation, entrepreneurship and artistry they nurture talent and provide vital spaces for connection and community,” she added.

When putting out a call for submissions last year, curators noted that 3,000 venues have been shuttered in London since the pandemic, which includes bars, pubs, and nightclubs.

Grab your tickets to Lost Music Venues, running from May 30, 2026, to October 30, 2027, at the V&A in South Kensington here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Associate Digital Editor

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