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An extensive archive of David Bowie’s life, work and legacy will go on public display for the first time in 2025, it was announced Wednesday.
Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V and A), the exhibition will include more than 80,000 items spanning six decades of the cultural icon’s career.
They will be made available to the public through the creation of the David Bowie Center for the Study of the Performing Arts, which will open in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It will allow fans and researchers to get closer and gain new insights into Bowie’s creative process like never before, the V and A said.
The collection will feature handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, fashion, photography, movies, music videos, stage sets, album art, and awards.
Icon: An extensive archive of David Bowie’s life will be on public display for the first time in 2025 (Pictured: David in the striped suit designed by Kansai Yamamoto for the 1973 Aladdin Sane tour to be shown)
Music Star – Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V and A), the exhibition will include more than 80,000 items spanning six decades of the cultural icon’s career.
Notable: The Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the 1997 Earthling album cover will be on display as part of the exhibition.
It will also include instruments owned by the world-famous musician, as well as unrealized writings and projects never before seen in public.
Highlights include stage costumes such as Bowie’s innovative Ziggy Stardust ensembles, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972, Kansai Yamamoto’s creations for the Aladdin Sane tour in 1973, and the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the cover. from the 1997 album Earthling.
The archive also includes more than 70,000 photographs, prints, negatives, slides, and contact sheets taken by some of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, from Terry O’Neill to Brian Duffy and Helmut Newton.
Its acquisition by V and A and the creation of the center was made possible by the David Bowie Estate and a £10 million donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group.
Dr Tristram Hunt, Director of the V and A, said: ‘David Bowie was one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time.
“The V and A are delighted to become custodians of their incredible archive and to open it to the public.
Bowie’s radical innovations in music, theater, film, fashion and style, from Berlin to Tokyo to London, continue to influence design and visual culture, inspiring creatives like Janelle Monae, Lady Gaga, Tilda Swinton and Raf Simons.
“Our new collection hub, the V&A East Storehouse, is the ideal place to bring Bowie’s work into dialogue with the V and A collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design and performance.
“My deepest thanks to the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group for helping to make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow.”
Glimpse: As part of the archive, the padded two-piece suit, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972 for the Ziggy Stardust tour, will be on display.
In real life: David is pictured wearing the two-piece suit while on stage with Mick Ronson in 1972.
Museum: A self-portrait of David from 1978 in the same pose adopted for the Héroes album cover will be on display.
Important details: The cut lyrics of the song Blackout from David’s 1977 album Heroes will be part of the archives on display
On stage: A photograph of David performing as The Thin White Duke on the Station to Station Tour in 1976 will be on display.
Tragic: David died of liver cancer in 2016 in New York. Bowie kept his battle with liver cancer largely private, succumbing to the disease just days after his 69th birthday.
A David Bowie Estate spokesperson added: “With David’s life’s work becoming part of the UK’s national collections, he takes his rightful place among many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses.
“The David Bowie Center for the Study of Performance, and the behind-the-scenes access offered by the V and A East Storehouse, will mean that David’s work can be shared with the public in ways not previously possible.
“We are very pleased to be working closely with the V and A to continue to commemorate David’s enduring cultural influence.”
David died of liver cancer in 2016 in New York.
Bowie kept his battle with liver cancer mostly private, succumbing to the disease just days after his 69th birthday, which coincided with the release of his 25th and final studio album, Blackstar.