The Design Museum has opened a pop-up supermarket
Courtesy of Design Museum, London
There has been much howling and gnashing of teeth at the fact that the English government have allowed commercial galleries and non-essential retail to open for business, whilst public museums and galleries have to remain shut for an additional month, until 12 May. However this week the Design Museum has hatched a cunning plan to allow visitors through its doors by turning itself into a supermarket, selling essential goods for the same prices as any local store.
For five days, between 21 to 25 April, instead of its usual high end fare, the museum’s gift shop will be stocking such household staples as toilet paper, teabags, pasta, tonic water, porridge oats and tonic water. Although the prices are still strictly supermarket—£1 for washing up liquid, £3.50 for a pack of coffee, toilet paper at £1 a roll—the goods come in a limited edition of 1500 per item and all the packaging—even the stickers on the fruit—has been designed by a collective of 10 emerging artists. All proceeds from the sale of these most artistically packaged products will go to the Design Museum’s Emerging Artist’s Fund.