A V&A museum dedicated to the late David Bowie opens in September 2025 — and now more details have been revealed about what to expect.
Part of V&A East Storehouse on Hackney's East Bank, the David Bowie Centre will be home to a staggering 90,000 items related to the Thin White Duke — including stage outfits, photos, hand-written lyrics and instruments.
Between 2013-2018, the V&A in South Kensington held an astoundingly popular show about the artist, David Bowie Is, but it wasn't until 2023 that the museum took custody of the David Bowie Archives, from Bowie's estate.
As with the rest of the V&A Storehouse East, not all of the objects at the David Bowie Centre will be on display at once; instead the collection (which will be free to visit) will be rotated.
The V&A has now announced that The Last Dinner Party (in Londonist's opinion, one of the greatest bands to emerge in the past few years) will guest curate an inaugural display, alongside the legendary producer (indeed he produced two of Bowie's albums), and founding member of Chic, Nile Rodgers. These initial curator picks include a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight tour, personal correspondence between Bowie and Rodgers about the 1993 Black Tie White Noise album, Mick Rock photos showing Bowie in intimate recording studio moments, Bowie's elaborate handwritten lyrics for 'Win' from the Young Americans album, and his Electronic Music Studios (EMS) synthesiser user manual.
The V&A's curatorial team consulted 18-24 year-old east Londoners (some of who had never heard of Bowie) in a bid to bring Bowie's genius and legacy to a wider audience, and to demonstrate how his output continues to influence artists including Lana del Rey, Lil Nas X and Issey Miyake. Among their picks are an idea from Bowie about adapting George Orwell's 1984, and his sketches of unrealised Young Americans and Diamond Dogs films.
Other initial displays explore Bowie's creation of his iconic personas including Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane, and a look at the musician's embrace of technology, futurism and science fiction.
Visitors will also be able to use the Order an Object experience to get up close to anything from the collection that they wish. Although strumming Rebel Rebel on one of Bowie's old guitars will presumably be verboten.
David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, open from 13 September 2025, free — with tickets released later in the summer.
