- Friday, April 04, 2025
The display, named “Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail,” consists of 13 installations placed across various galleries in Victoria and Albert Museum
By: India Weekly
A temporary exhibition featuring items from U.S. musician Taylor Swift has opened at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
The display, named “Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail,” consists of 13 installations placed across various galleries in the museum.
Curator Kate Bailey explained, “It’s a journey around the museum. It follows chapters in Taylor Swift’s career and we highlight the eras and showcase objects and looks worn by Taylor across the different spaces in the museum.”
Bailey and her team used Swift’s personal archives to select items for the exhibition. The installations are arranged in galleries that correspond with significant moments in the artist’s career. The exhibition includes customised cowboy boots from the beginning of Swift’s career, the wig and facial hair from “The Man” music video, reproductions of hand-drawn storyboards for the “Willow” music video, and a golden microphone with snake detail from the “Reputation” tour. Additionally, the display features the ukulele used on the “Speak Now” tour and the fisherman cap from the “Red (Taylor’s Version)” album cover.
Bailey noted, “It’s been a really fast-moving project, where I got to select works from the collection. I wanted to make sure that we were able to showcase costumes, but also musical instruments, objects that kind of convey her whole career and creativity.”
“This is the first time we’ve done a trail in this way. And it’s the first time these objects have been seen in the UK. So, it’s incredibly exciting and it’s free,” Bailey added.
The “Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail” exhibition is open at the V&A South Kensington from June 27 to September 8. The museum estimates that completing the trail takes between 60 and 90 minutes.
