“Tomorrow belongs to those who hear it coming,” said O. David Bowie, one of the most authentic, innovative and popular performers of our time, a figure who has left his mark on music, cinema, fashion and acquired countless imitators. Characteristically, the exhibition “David Bowie Is…”, organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in 2013, for the first time gaining access to the artist’s archive, became one of the most successful in his history, as more than two million people around the world visited during her international tour.

And now it’s time for the David Bowie Archive to join the V&A Theater & Performance collections, which include archives of artists and arts organizations, from Vivien Leigh and Peter Brook to the Akram Khan Dance Company and the Glastonbury Festival.

With more than 80,000 objects, Bowie’s archive shows the ever-changing style of a pioneering creator who has reinvented himself many times over his fifty-year career, from his first steps in the 1960s to his death in 2016. Also includes handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, photographs, films, music videos, performance props, his musical instruments, album covers, concert programs, and awards. It also contains notebooks of the artist’s more personal notes, unfinished ideas, and unrealized projects, most of which have never been seen in public again.

A chameleon-like figure, Bowie created stage characters such as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, and these ever-changing personas helped solidify his reputation as an innovative and uncompromising artist.

Suits

Highlights of this run are marked by the costumes he wore on stage, such as the revolutionary Ziggy Stardust outfits designed by Freddie Buretti in 1972, Kansai Yamamoto’s striking creations for the Aladdin Sane tour (1973), and the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie with Alexander McQueen. for the cover of the Earthling album. In addition, the archive includes handwritten lyrics for songs such as “Fame” (1975), “Heroes” (1977) and “Ashes to Ashes” (1980), as well as examples of the fragmentary writing method adopted by William Burroughs.

Bowie was an artist who was not afraid of the talent of his peers, but instead drew energy and inspiration from their work. He is known for his collaborations with musicians such as Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger and producer Tony Visconti.

In addition, throughout his career he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, photographers and filmmakers. Thus, the archive includes a photo collage of frames from the science fiction film The Man Who Fell to Earth (1975-76) directed by Nicholas Regga, in which he starred, and more than 70,000 photographs, reproductions, negatives, large-format photographs. a transparent film format signed by some of the leading photographers of the 20th century from Terry O’Neill to Brian Duffy and Helmut Newton.

From 2025, the David Bowie archive will be available to the public, from avid fans of the artist to schoolchildren and researchers, through the creation of the David Bowie Center for the Study of the Performing Arts at the V&A East Storehouse, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford.