The gallery has announced that it will make the archive available to the public at a new centre in 2025
The V&A has secured the archive of David Bowie, an extensive collection that spans six decades and includes more than 80,000 items. To make sure it has ample room, the archive will be displayed at the new V&A East Storehouse, a 16,000 sq. m space that’s been purpose-built to house over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives.
With items that date back to the 60s, the archive will feature handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, Bowie’s own instruments, album artwork and awards. There’ll be nine rotating displays, including ones focusing on unrealised projects (like an idea to adapt Orwell’s 1984 and unrealised Young Americans and Diamond Dogs films); his iconic personas like Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane; his embrace of futurism and science fiction; and his creative collaborators.
Nile Rodgers, who produced Let’s Dance and Black Tie White Noise, is guest curating a display around what he calls his and Bowie’s shared ‘love of the music that had both made and saved our lives’. This will include a bespoke Peter Hall suite worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight tour; Chuck Pulin and Peter Gabriel photographs; and personal correspondence between Bowie and Rodgers about the 1993 Black Tie White Noise album.
Brit award-winning band The Last Dinner Party are also curating a display, featuring objects like handwritten lyrics, set lists and Bowie’s Electronic Music Studios (EMS) synthesiser user manual, that show how Bowie continues to inspire generations of artists to ‘stand up for themselves and their music’ and ‘steal and reinterpret’ to create something unique
The David Bowie archive will provide fans with a glimpse into the creative processes of one of the most influential figures in the history of live and recorded music, film and fashion. It’ll be available to view at the David Bowie Centre (opening inside the Storehouse’s Study Centre in September) where visitors will also be able to book one-on-one time with items.
Key Information
Opening date | Sat 13th September 2025
Address | V&A East Storehouse, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20
For more information | vam.ac.uk
