Punk to Pop at the V&A

The V&A’s major 2027 exhibition Punk to Pop is an immersive celebration of music, art and fashion that re-examines the creative explosion from 1972 to 1985. It explores how the 70s fuelled the 80s, and how underground scenes and movements united by a punk DIY attitude created enduring musical genres and shaped the future of popular culture. The story traces a path through music that begins with the flamboyant aesthetics of glam rock and disco, goes underground with the emergence of new subcultures, and finishes with a global pop culture primed for the digital age – showing how a generation of self-determined artists, from the Sex Pistols to The Slits, The Specials to Joy Division, Wham! to Eurythmics, responded to austerity, boredom and political turbulence. Across a series of multi-sensory worlds, visitors encounter around 300 objects, from stage costumes to photography, music videos and designs.