Birthday celebrations for V&A

The installation will run for three weeks

London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is celebrating its 150th birthday with a new outdoor light display.

The museum has commissioned artist Simon Periton to create a light installation, Free Radicals, which will be projected onto the V&A's Dome.

Mr Periton has created 50 intricate cut-outs inspired by the V&A's collections which will be transformed into light, colour and silhouette.

It will be projected in the evenings from 16 May for the next three weeks.

The V&A said Mr Periton was the ideal choice to work on this installation.

"His work combines a fascination with the decorative arts and traditional craft skills."

The Spiral will cost more than £75m

"Transforming the ordinary into the exotic, Mr Periton uses paper intricately cut into complex designs, to make large-scale decorative silhouettes."

On 16 May, the V&A is holding a party for some of the UK's leading fashion designers, photographers and craftsmen to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

The museum first opened to the public in Marlborough House in 1852 and was originally called the Museum of Manufactures.

Five years later it re-opened on its present site and was called the South Kensington Museum.

In 1899, the museum became the Victoria and Albert Museum, when Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of the present building.

Major changes

The V&A as it is today opened its doors on 26 June 1909.

The museum is undergoing one of the biggest redevelopments in its history.

A new Contemporary Space was opened last month, part of a £150m development programme.

The Contemporary Space aims to showcase design, craft, fashion, photography, architecture and the graphic arts from around the world.

One of the major developments at the south Kensington venue will be the opening of new Mediaeval and Renaissance galleries, which have been part-funded by a £1m anonymous donation.

Half of the £150m budget will be spent on the audacious Spiral building for the V&A's contemporary collections.

The V&A has seen a big increase in admissions since entry fees were dropped last November.

More than 1.8 million people visited in the last financial year.