V&A announces national tour of David Bowie archive
The V&A has revealed plans for a national tour of one-hundred highlights from the David Bowie archive, celebrating his creativity and cultural impact.
The archive first opened at London’s V&A East Storehouse, and David Bowie: On Tour will mark the first time that the archive highlights have been shared across the UK on this scale. The entire archive features over 90,000 items spanning Bowie’s career, acquired by the V&A in 2024.
The tour will begin in Scotland in November 2026, continuing through to Showtown in Blackpool (June–September 2027), the Bowes Museum in County Durham (October 2027–January 2028), the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull (February–May 2028), and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (June–September 2028), with more venues to be announced.
The exhibition features four sections which showcase different periods of Bowie’s life. Opening section Bowie Through a Lens delves into how photography shaped Bowie’s image and identity, featuring work by Terry O’Neill, Mick Rock, Sukita, Brian Ward and more.
The second section, All the Somebody People, focuses on Bowie onstage and in the studio across his Ziggy Stardust, Berlin, Let’s Dance, and (Blackstar) eras, examining how he continually reinvented his sound with different personas.
This is followed by the third section, Hooked to the Silver Screen, which looks at Bowie’s performances across music videos, film, and TV, before concluding with the fourth section, I Can’t Give Everything Away, which documents his process and legacy through several of his personal possessions.
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