Celebrating Creativity Inspired by Neighborhood: Adobe x V&A 2026 Creative Residency Display

Adobe is dedicated to empowering creators with the chance to pursue their desires and share the tales which might be formed by their distinctive backgrounds. Through the Adobe Creative Residency programme, a collaboration between the Adobe Foundation and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London, we’ve got co-created a novel pathway to construct bridges between a globally revered cultural establishment and the subsequent era of creators who’re centered on group and connection.

Over the final yr, three Adobe Creative Residents have been embedded inside the V&A, its collections, and communities, and we’re delighted to have fun the colourful showcase of their creativity with the opening of Adobe Creative Residents: On Display.

This free show is the fruits of a transformative yr of artistry, collaboration, and group affect from the residents who’re: Jess Starns, a multi-disciplinary artist concerned with inclusive design and incapacity historical past and rights; Ciara Neufeldt, a ceramic artist and educator whose work brings playfulness and pleasure into public areas; and Michael Akuagwu, a multimedia artist mixing images and photo-manipulation with a surreal strategy to discover themes of self, id, and tradition.

Showcasing a yr of collaborative creativity

The show spotlights the works of Jess, Ciara, and Michael while posing guests a sequence of essential questions:  What does creativity appear to be? How can artists assist museums welcome new audiences? And how does artwork strengthen the connections between us?

The Creative Residents discovered some solutions by way of their deep engagements with the V&A, its collections, and audiences. Throughout the yr, they led workshops, collaborated with younger individuals, colleges, and households, and supported programmes designed to welcome new and traditionally underrepresented audiences into the museum.

“Jess, Ciara, and Michael have inspired audiences and opened new conversations about what creativity can look like,” stated Simon Morris, VP International Marketing at Adobe. “Through the Adobe Creative Residency programme we’re not only supporting talented artists to hone their craft, we’re also helping make creativity more accessible to communities that have been historically underserved.”

The tales behind what’s ‘On Display’

Ciara Neufeldt — Mosaics and Ceramic Tilework Resident | Focus: Families

Ciara’s work intends to advertise inclusion and accessibility to artwork inside individuals’s each day lives. During her residency, she created a surprising ceramic wishing nicely that explores themes of group, care, and shared creativity.

In delivering her centrepiece, she drew inspiration from the V&A’s intensive ceramics collections, the museum’s personal architectural mosaics, and its assortment of quilts, paying explicit consideration to the hyperlinks between collective artistry and group.

Her vibrant, vibrant, large-scale ceramic works mirror the liveliness and joyful spirit of collective making. Ciara shared:

“Joy lies at the core of my practice, acting as a catalyst for what I make and teach. This residency was transformative…you’re just in this space where everything is possible.”

Michael Akuagwu — Photography Resident | Focus: Young People

Michael’s work asks of us to query ourselves and the world round us. During his residency, he drew inspiration from Black photographers inside the V&A’s images collections, utilizing these works to border a robust exploration of present-day tradition and self-expression.

His array of pictures captures Black British life, drawing from his analysis of the museum’s documentary {photograph} assortment. He additionally experimented with new types of images and analogue photo-manipulation to reimagine the Black British expertise for the fashionable day.

“I was inspired to create my own collective of ‘Old Masters’ using the works of Black photographers within the V&A collection as a foundation,” Michael shared. “To go through the collections and see so many works of people that look like me…learning about stories from generations before us, I think is really special.”

Jess Starns — Inclusive Design Resident | Focus: Schools

Jess is neurodivergent and, as a consequence of her dexterity, she believes in making artwork that’s accessible. Her residency explored adaptive design, objects created by disabled individuals, and the function of occupational remedy. She additionally developed a supportive studio atmosphere for kids and their assist networks, inviting them to co-design instruments and artworks that interact with incapacity, psychological well being, and neurodivergence.

For her ultimate show, Jess introduced a group of objects created by disabled individuals for disabled individuals, highlighting how incapacity can increase and enrich our understanding of design.

“I’m always looking for new, innovative ways to create art that is accessible to myself and others,” Jess defined. “It was important to reach a point where the students felt they could be at the same level as the adults in the room, and then look at how we can all work together as a collective.”

Impact past the gallery

Throughout their residencies, every artist had entry to on-site studios on the V&A, mentorship from museum employees and trade professionals, and alternatives to analysis the museum’s world-leading collections.

Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, emphasised that the V&A’s collections usually are not static relics however ongoing sources of inspiration for at the moment’s artists and designers.

“Art is not just about what we see; it’s about what we feel and how it connects us to the world. The Adobe Creative Residency Programme is a testament to the dynamic relationship between artists and museums. By allowing artists to engage deeply with our collections, we foster creativity and bridge the gap between the past, present, and future of design.”

The Adobe Creative Residency is a part of our Adobe x Museums programme, which goals to succeed in ten million younger creators and college students globally by 2028. The mission is to make inventive expression and training accessible to all younger individuals and to encourage them to discover their very own inventive potential.

The Residents’ work on the V&A continues to increase entry to the humanities for colleges, younger individuals, and households and is pushed by the shared perception that creativity lives all over the place – in communities, relationships, and the tales we share.

The residents have already linked with hundreds of individuals, a lot of whom might not ordinarily have engaged with the V&A, and they’re set to encourage tons of of hundreds extra by way of their new show which stays open to the general public without cost till November 2026.

Find out extra and plan your visit to Adobe Creative Residents: On Display

All pictures © Victoria and Albert Museum 2025