Home to over 90,000 personal artefacts, the David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse promises an immersive look into the life and legacy of the star.
This September, the David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts will officially open its doors at V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, providing fans and scholars with a permanent home for one of the most extensive archives in music history.
For the first time, the public will have access to over 90,000 objects from Bowie's personal and professional archives, ranging from handwritten lyrics and original costumes to unseen photographs and experimental work that never made it to stage or screen.
Located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, the Centre is more than just a museum. It's a living, breathing celebration of Bowie's ever-evolving creativity and enduring cultural impact. From the reinventions of Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke to the genre-defying experimentation of Blackstar, the exhibition offers insight into the visionary mind that changed music, fashion, and pop culture forever.
Nile Rodgers, legendary producer of Bowie's Let's Dance album and longtime collaborator, is among the first guest curators. He's hand-selected a mix of items that include a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn on the Serious Moonlight tour, as well as Chuck Pulin's photographs from the Let's Dance studio sessions. "My creative life with David Bowie provided the greatest success of his incredible career, but our friendship was just as rewarding. Our bond was built on a love of the music that had both made and saved our lives," Rodgers reflects.
The Centre will host rotating displays every six months, each curated by a fresh wave of contributors from across the artistic spectrum. First up are The Last Dinner Party, the Brit Award-winning indie band, who have curated a 1970s-inspired showcase exploring how Bowie empowered a new generation of artists to reinvent and reclaim their voice.
In addition to guest-curated displays, eight further sections will showcase around 200 handpicked objects from the archive, selected by the V&A's in-house curatorial team in partnership with local young people from boroughs including Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest. This collaborative approach ensures Bowie's impact continues to resonate with and inspire the next generation of creatives.
The David Bowie Centre joins a growing list of iconic collections housed by the V&A, from Vivien Leigh and the House of Worth to the Glastonbury Festival Archive. And come 13 September, that portal swings wide open.
GO: Visit vam.ac.uk for more information.