Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Kansai Yamamoto’s Ziggy Stardust clothes, keys to Bowie’s Berlin apartment and his childhood saxophone are among the antiques that UK visitors will see at the V&A’s. David Bowie the museum will make its debut this winter.
More than 100 of the Bowie Center’s 90,000 items at the V&A East Storehouse in London – some of which have never been shown in public – will make up David Bowie: On Tour, which opens at V&A Dundee in November.
The V&A’s curator of operations Harriet Reed said the archive revealed “an artist on the move – restless, forward-looking in a career that goes beyond music and images as we know them”.
The exhibition will consist of four parts: Bowie Through the Lens will examine the work of artists – by artists including Mick Rock, Terry O’Neill, Masayoshi Sukita and Brian Ward – in the making of Bowie’s history. All the Somebody People reflects on Bowie in the studio and on stage, including manuscripts of albums from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Lodger and Blackstar, steps from Let’s Dance and the koto Bowie sang on Heroes Moss Garden.
Linked to the Silver Screen will highlight Bowie’s film career, with footage and support from music videos, interactive pages, clapperboards and Polaroids from films ranging from Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence to Labyrinth, The Snowman and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie – as well as the script for The Simpsons episode he dropped in the film.
The final section, I Can’t Give Anything Away, examines Bowie’s instincts for hoarding: how he kept his first saxophone and harmonica mic from his last tour; artwork, a 1988 passport, an original copy of the Velvet Underground’s 1967 single I’m Waiting for the Man, various lists, notes and Post-it notes for future archivists; music charts and handwritten plans for unfinished projects, including the previously unreleased TV movie The Catastrophe Cabinet.
The director of the V&A, Sir Tristram Hunt, called the visit “a global partnership for the V&A” in a press release. “Working with our partners in museums and galleries across the country, we’re unlocking Bowie’s story in places related to his life and legacy, ensuring that people across the country can see these amazing things where they live, and be inspired by his timeless talent.”
Bowie played Dundee, the first stop on the V & A tour, on the Ziggy Stardust tour in 1973. Blackpool’s Showtown is the second venue: in 1966, David Bowie and Buzz performed on the southern stage. The third stop contact, Bowes’ museum in County Durham, was not so close: he played next to Sunderland in 1987.
David Bowie: On tour he moved to the Ferens art gallery in Hull, the city where his backing band Spiders from Mars came from. Originally known as Hype, they formed when drummer John Cambridge tracked down Mick Ronson while working in the city council’s parks department. The Ziggy Stardust tour also stopped in Bristol in 1973 – after performing Bowie’s old concerts in the city – the last stop for the tour, although more venues have been announced.
The V&A first exhibited the Bowie archive in 2013. That exhibition toured the world, with 12 stops in Europe, North and South America, Japan and Australia, until 2018. Last September, the V&A opened the permanent Bowie Center at its new East Storehouse location in east London.
Exhibitions featuring music have proved a success at the V&A, with previous exhibitions showcasing the work and new works of Annie Lennox, Taylor Swift, and Pink Floyd, as well as club culture, Black British music and underground music venues.
Tour dates so far
-
V&A Dundee: November 2026 – February 2027
-
Showroom, Blackpool: June – September 2027
-
Bowes Museum, County Durham: October 2027 – January 2028
-
Ferens Pictures, Hull: February – May 2028
-
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery: June – September 2028
