David Bowie’s V&A archive to head on tour across the UK
The music icon's archive will head to locations such as Dundee, Blackpool and County Durham.
By Nick Reilly
David Bowie‘s extensive archive at London’s V&A East Storehouse is set to go on tour across the UK.
The Bowie Centre is located at the V&A East Storehouse and has become the permanent home for the singer’s archive, which was acquired following his death in 2016.
It opened last Autumn and offers an experience that’s somewhere in-between a gargantuan IKEA-esque warehouse and an Aladdin’s Cave. Floor upon floor of eclectic items from across the V&A’s entire collection are on display, and they can all be ordered by visitors to be individually examined within the facility’s study rooms.
Today (July 1) it has been announced a new national tour will see highlights from the Bowie archive travelling across the UK over several years.
More than 100 pieces from the collection will go on display in locations such as Dundee, Blackpool, Hull, County Durham and Bristol for the ‘David Bowie: On Tour’ initiative.
It is the only chance to see the items outside of London and fans can expect a “rare glimpse into David Bowie’s creative process and how he shaped his iconic image, music, video, TV and film work”.
Highlights in the new touring archive will include Bowie’s iconic costumes, instruments, photography, and never-before-seen items including Polaroids which were taken for make-up and costume fittings.
The jaunt kicks off at V&A Dundee from November 2026 to February 2027, before moving to Showtown in Blackpool (June to September 2027), the Bowes Museum in County Durham (October 2027 to January 2028), the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull (February to May 2028), and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (June to September 2028).
It will also be split into four sections: ‘Bowie Through A Lens’ (photography), ‘All The Somebody People’ (live performances and recording sessions), ‘Hooked To The Silver Screen’ (Bowie’s on screen work), and ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’ (exploring how the music icon grappled with his own creative process and legacy).
“‘David Bowie: On Tour’ marks the first time highlights from David Bowie’s archive have been shared on this scale across the UK, outside of London, bringing Bowie’s story and creative imagination to new audiences across the country,” a description states.
“This touring programme is part of the V&A’s commitment to widening access to its collections, ensuring audiences across the UK can experience their national collections where they live.”
Sir Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: “‘David Bowie: On Tour’ is a landmark national partnership for the V&A, bringing highlights from David Bowie’s extraordinary archive to audiences across the UK for the first time.
“Working with our colleagues in museums and venues nationwide, we’re opening up Bowie’s story in the places connected to his life and legacy, ensuring people across the country can experience these remarkable objects where they live, and be inspired by his enduring creativity.”
Speaking about the archive last year, curator Dr Madeleine Haddon told RS UK: “You’re learning about the tools that Bowie used for his own creative practice. But you’re not only learning about that in the context of David Bowie, we frame it in such a way that you’re thinking about how to apply that to your own work.”
She adds: “You’ll see the sheer volume of what Bowie saved and things that could seem incredibly banal, like scraps of paper and notebooks with musings and writings. They’re some of the most fascinating parts of the archive and every piece of that is part of his journey.”
More recently, a show dedicated to the life and performances of Bowie opened at London’s Lightroom. David Bowie: You’re Not Alone showcases a mixture of iconic Bowie performances and lesser seen footage from the singer’s sprawling New York Archive, all projected on the walls of the immersive space in Kings Cross.