The most exciting museum openings in 2026

This article was first published by The Art Newspaper.

From the idyllic Slovenian countryside to the heart of Los Angeles, here are ten of the biggest new and expanded museums opening this year.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Opening April, cost $720m

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art; Opening 22 September, cost $1bn

Dataland; Opening spring, cost undisclosed

V&A East; opening 18 April, cost undisclosed

In April, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) opens its third new venue in as many years, following the reimagined Young V&A in July 2023 and the V&A East Storehouse in May 2025. Joining them in east London, on a riverbank by the 2012 Olympic Park, is V&A East. Its aim, says the V&A’s overall director Tristram Hunt, is to open up the museum’s vast collections of applied and decorative arts “in new ways to audiences which have historically been underserved by major cultural institutions”.

V&A East will feature more than 500 objects, including art, architecture, design, performance and fashion. Visitors will be welcomed by a monumental sculpture by Thomas J. Price and the inaugural exhibition will focus on Black British music.