A new exhibition celebrating 30 years of Maggie’s is coming to V&A Dundee

Picture: Maggie’s / Supplied

A new free exhibition marking 30 years of Maggie’s cancer care centres will open at V&A Dundee on 6 March 2026.

Maggie’s: Architecture that Cares, the show will explore how thoughtful design and architecture have shaped the charity’s groundbreaking approach to emotional and practical support for people affected by cancer. It will run in the Michelin Design Gallery until 1 November 2026.

The exhibition joins two major shows already announced for the museum’s 2026 programme - Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show and Design and Disability.

Together, they make up one of V&A Dundee’s most ambitious annual programmes to date.

While those exhibitions explore creativity on the runway and the contributions of Disabled, Deaf and neurodivergent people to design history, Maggie’s: Architecture that Cares places the focus firmly on healing environments and human-centred design.

Maggie’s began in the mid-1990s with the vision of designer and writer Maggie Keswick Jencks, who believed that well-designed spaces could help people “not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying”.

After her cancer returned, Maggie and her oncology nurse Laura Lee imagined a place close to, but separate from, the hospital - somewhere warm, supportive and uplifting.

With encouragement from Maggie’s husband, architectural historian Charles Jencks, the idea soon grew into a pioneering model for a new type of cancer care.

Thirty years on, more than 30 Maggie’s centres exist across the UK and beyond, each designed by internationally acclaimed architects including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster and Benedetta Tagliabue.

Although every centre is unique, each follows the same brief - to create a place that feels like a home, encourages human connection, and supports emotional wellbeing.

Maggie’s Dundee, designed by Gehry and opened in 2003, was the first purpose-built centre and sits beside Ninewells Hospital.

The exhibition will bring this philosophy to life through personal stories from centre visitors and staff, alongside architects’ models, sketches, newly commissioned film, interviews, and reflective spaces within the gallery.

Curators say they want visitors to understand not only how these buildings look, but how they make people feel. Many centre users describe Maggie’s architecture as helping them find calm, confidence and community at some of the most difficult times in their lives.

Dame Laura Lee, Maggie’s Chief Executive and one of the charity’s original co-founders, said marking the 30th anniversary at V&A Dundee feels “incredibly special”, adding that the exhibition will help introduce new audiences to Maggie’s ethos.

Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee, said she was proud to celebrate an organisation that “supports millions as they navigate cancer” and demonstrates that thoughtful design can “heal, help and offer hope”. Senior curator Meredith More added that the buildings themselves often play “a caring role” for those who spend time in them.

As cancer continues to affect more people each year, Maggie’s plans to expand its support, aiming to assist half a million visits annually by 2027.

The exhibition will also ask how Maggie’s pioneering design principles could inspire better, more humane healthcare spaces everywhere.

Like the centres themselves, the show has been shaped in part by the local community, with visitors from Maggie’s Dundee sharing their own insights and experiences.

Maggie’s: Architecture that Cares will be free to visit at V&A Dundee from 6 March to 1 November 2026.