The David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse

Image credit: Aladdin Sane Contact Sheet © Duffy Archive & © The David Bowie ArchiveTM

David Bowie’s extensive archive, held at the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, is now open to the public.

About

The David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse is now home to David Bowie’s personal archive. The 90,000 items include over 400 stage costumes and accessories, props and scenery, documents including notebooks, diaries, lyric sheets and letters, and 70,000 prints, negatives and transparencies.

Highlights of the collection include the Life on Mars? suit (1972, Freddie Burretti), Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust pink and green platform shoes (1972, Pelican Footwear) and the red Steinberger Hohner electric guitar, seen in the Valentine’s Day music video from 2013.

The exhibit includes 9 rotating displays of c.200 objects. Further items can be pre-booked to view using the Order an Object service. The most popular piece is the frockcoat Alexander McQueen designed for Bowie’s 50^th birthday concert.

Director of the V&A Dr Tristram Hunt explains: “One of the greatest performers, musicians, artists and innovators of all time, David Bowie’s impact continues to reverberate nearly a decade after his death – while his influence on design and visual culture and his inspiration on creatives today is unmatched. We are thrilled to care for Bowie’s incredible archive, revealing new insights into his creativity and legacy, and open it up for everyone at V&A East Storehouse, in dialogue with the V&A’s collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design, and performance. My deepest thanks go to the David Bowie Estate, Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group – without their extreme generosity, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

It’s free entry although tickets must be pre-booked to view this extremely popular collection. Tickets are released every six weeks (you can subscribe for ticket updates).

Photo credit: © Aude Gimonet

Getting there

The V&A East Storehouse can be reached from Hertford Street by taking the Jubilee line from Green Park to Stratford.

Also in the area

London Aquatics Centre
Zip World London at ArcelorMittal Orbit
London Stadium