The Victoria and Albert Museum’s South Kensington site has opened “Design and Disability,” a landmark exhibition that foregrounds disability as identity and culture through the lens of design. Running from June 7, 2025, to February 15, 2026, in the Porter Gallery, the show celebrates the radical contributions of Disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent people to contemporary design and culture from the 1940s to the present.
With 170 objects across the themes of Visibility, Tools, and Living, the exhibition explores how design, art, architecture, fashion, and photography have been shaped by disability-led practices and activism.
Exhibition Structure and Highlights
“Design and Disability” is divided into three sections:
Visibility spotlights how Disabled makers assert identity and express joy across mediums such as fashion, photography, zine culture, and editorial design. Highlights include Sky Cubacub’s adaptive garments, Maya Scarlette’s handsewn Notting Hill Carnival costume, and Marvel Harris’s self-portrait, “First Swim after Rebirth.” This section also features landmark editorial representations, such as British Vogue’s disability justice special and adaptive designs by global brands like Crocs and Nike.
Tools examines Disabled people as inventors and collaborators who adapt or ‘hack’ the designed world to meet diverse access needs. Objects range from Microsoft’s adaptive Xbox controller and the influential Touchstream keyboard by Wayne Westerman, to DIY prosthetics and the Jaipur Foot prosthesis designed for Indian communities. Projects such as “Still Ill: Corona Diary” and the videogame “Unpacking” explore lived experiences of chronic illness and identity.
Living addresses how Disabled people have shaped their environments through protest and imaginative design, with highlights like the McGonagle Reader (an audio-assisted voting device), Helen Stratford’s “Public S/Pacing” rest blanket, and Wendy Jacob’s “Squeeze Chaise Longue,” inspired by Temple Grandin’s ‘Hug Machine.’ The exhibition ends with a specially designed decompression zone for rest and sensory regulation.
Accessibility Innovations
The exhibition is noted for integrating access as a core design principle. Accessibility features include self-regulation and resting areas, additional seating, tactile objects, British Sign Language guides, and tactile surfaces and floors for blind and low vision visitors. Even DeafSpace principles—like reflective panels and mirrored exits to aid in spatial orientation—have been thoughtfully included. Visitors are welcomed with tactile maps, audio descriptions, sensory maps, and plain English guides, ensuring an inclusive experience for all.
Curator Natalie Kane emphasized the transformative intent behind the show, stating:
“Disabled people have always been here. They’ve always been designers. [The exhibition] is making sure we reassert the place of disabled designers. Disabled people have always been making, hacking and adapting”. Kane explained that “this exhibition shows how Disabled people are the experts in our own lives, and have made invaluable contributions to our designed world. Design and Disability aims to honor Disabled life as it engages with creative practice, presenting a strong culture of making that has always been central to Disabled identity”.
Kane added, “I hope that Disabled people feel affirmed, excited and represented. We’ve tried to be thoughtful about the experience, and what it means for visitors to give their time to us… there’s no excuse not to consider Disabled communities, and their experience, in your planning”.
Legacy and Reception
“Design and Disability” is presented as a call to action for design justice, inviting both the design industry and the wider public to learn from disability-first approaches. The exhibition’s creation process involved extensive consultation with Disabled advisory groups, ensuring authentic representation and accessibility. The V&A has underlined its commitment to carrying lessons from this show forward, so “it shouldn’t be that a show about disability is the only show where you get access principles”.
The exhibition is accompanied by a new accessible publication, available at the V&A Shop, and comprehensive visitor resources in multiple formats. Tickets and further information are available via the museum’s official channels.
All Images courtesy of V & A
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