London, UK, 24 Nov 2022: Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and the V&A have today announced that Toshiba’s sponsorship of the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art at the V&A has been extended until 2031. This continues Toshiba’s longstanding association with the V&A and will help ensure that visitors can continue to enjoy and learn from the gallery for many years to come.

Originally opened in 1986, the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art is one of the largest permanent galleries of Japanese art in the UK. It displays over 550 objects from the museum’s renowned collection, illustrating the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistic creativity of Japan from the sixth century to the present day, including swords and armour, lacquer, ceramics, cloisonné enamels, textiles and fashion, inrō and netsuke, and paintings, prints and illustrated books.

Representing Japanese society and culture to the wider world has been an important part of Toshiba’s business for many years. From its roots in bringing local innovations in consumer technology to the global public, Toshiba has continued to focus on bringing the best of Japan to people across the world and in the UK.

Today, this is shown not only through its support of the V&A but through Toshiba’s continued investment and innovation across industries such as sustainable energy technology, infrastructure services and world-leading cyber-physical technology, as well as its plans to move to a new European headquarters in Staines-upon-Thames.

“Toshiba has been proud to showcase Japan’s culture to visitors at the V&A ever since the opening of this gallery in 1986,” said Tomoaki Kumagai, President & CEO of Toshiba Europe Ltd. “Through to the current day, we continue to be guided by our corporate philosophy of being committed to people and the future. Supporting the arts and cultural education through our longstanding relationship with the V&A is a key part of this philosophy, alongside wider contributions to a better future for all through our business portfolio, such as our sustainable energy technologies that are helping to decarbonise our society.”

Toshiba’s sponsorship has allowed the museum to continually develop innovative displays to inform and inspire its audiences, and a significant upgrade in 2015 provided additional space to show modern and contemporary works including interior and product design, electronics, photography and fashion.

Director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt, said: “We are extremely grateful to Toshiba for extending their support for the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art. The V&A has been collecting Japanese art and design since the museum was founded in 1852. With Toshiba’s generous support, we can continue to develop and grow this internationally important collection, and to showcase the extraordinary craftsmanship and artistic wealth of Japan from the 6th century to the present day.”

The Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art is free to access for all visitors to the V&A. For more details on the gallery and how to visit, please visit the V&A’s website.

About the V&A
About the V&A The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity, spanning 5000 years of human creativity. It was established in 1852 to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, its purpose is to champion creative industry, inspire the next generation, and spark everyone’s imagination. vam.ac.uk Twitter: @V_and_A Instagram: @vamuseum Facebook: @VictoriaandalbertMuseum