LONDON — A museum in London announced Thursday that they have acquired over 80,000 items from David Bowie's estate and plan to make it public.
The Victoria and Albert Museum has plans to make the vast archive available to the public in 2025 by developing The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts. It will be located in East London, located in Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
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Photograph of David Bowie Performing as The Thin White Duke on the Station to Station tour, 1976. Photograph by John Robert Rowlands. © John Robert Rowlands and The David Bowie Archive ![]()
Cut up lyrics for ‘Blackout’ from “Heroes”, 1977 by David Bowie. © The David Bowie Archive ![]()
Self-portrait in pose also adopted for the album cover of “Heroes”, 1978 by David Bowie. © The David Bowie Archive ![]()
Quilted two-piece suit, 1972. Designed by Freddie Burretti for the Ziggy Stardust tour. © The David Bowie Archive ![]()
Striped bodysuit for Aladdin Sane tour, 1973. Design by Kansai Yamamoto. Photograph by Masayoshi Sukita. © Sukita and The David Bowie Archive
"Encompassing more than 80,000 items, the archive traces Bowie’s creative processes as a
musical innovator, cultural icon, and advocate for self-expression and reinvention from his
early career in the 1960s to his death in 2016. Alongside the creation of the new Centre, the
gift will support the ongoing conservation, research, and study of the archive," the release states.
The archive features letters, sheet music, original costumes, handwritten lyrics, fashion, photography, films, music videos, set designs, instruments and more.
It also includes more intimate writings, thought processes and unrealized projects — the majority of which have never been seen in public before.
“With David’s life’s work becoming part of the UK’s national collections, he takes his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses. The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts – and the behind the scenes access that V&A East Storehouse offers– will mean David’s work can be shared with the public in ways that haven’t been possible before, and we’re so pleased to be working closely with the V&A to continue to commemorate David’s enduring cultural influence," a spokesperson for the David Bowie Estate said.
Bowie died in 2016 following a bout with liver cancer. He recorded his last album "Blackstar" while battling cancer and it was released two days before his death.