A vast archive that brings together the life, work and legacy of the iconic British musician David Bowie will be on public display for the first time in 2025. All of this impressive material will have a special place on display, in a new venue in east London. This was announced on Thursday by Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).
The extensive collection was acquired by the V&A (as the museum is known in this country) and will include more than 80,000 objects spanning six decades of the artist’s impressive career.
A multifaceted artist
Born David Robert Jones in London in 1947, he chose David Bowie as his stage name. In addition to being one of the most popular figures in music for several decades, he also excelled as an actor, multi-instrumentalist and designer.
His particular innovative and avant-garde style, in all the sectors in which he has ventured, has positioned him as a unique reference, at an international level. Bowie died in 2016, aged 69, from cancer.
For its part, the archive will be made available to citizens through the creation of the so-called David Bowie Center for the Study of the Performing Arts, which will open in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, also east of the City of London.
As the museum said in a statement, the archive will allow die-hard fans of the iconic British singer, who spans multiple generations, to get closer to his creative process than ever before.
The details
The collection being prepared for its opening, in two years time, will include handwritten texts, letters, sheet music, as well as original costumes, fashion items, photographs, videos, stage designs, album covers and awards, amassed by the emblematic musician over the course of his life.
Various instruments will also be part of the exhibition. that belonged to the artist and sketches of projects never seen before in public.
Among the highlights of the archive will be, as revealed by the V&A, Ziggy Stardust’s suitBowie’s alter ego, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972. The creations of the Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoti created for the tour of sane alladin in 1973.
And naturally, the famous coat with the Union Jack will not be missing (as the British flag is called) designed by Bowie himself and the late British designer Alexander McQueen for the album cover terrestrial (1997).
Also there will be more than 70,000 photographs, etchings, negatives and slides taken by renowned photographers of the 20th century, from Terry O’Neill to Brian Duffy or Helmut Newton, who have had Bowie as an inspiration for many of their works.
Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, recalled during the announcement that Bowie “was one of the most important musicians and artists of all time”. And for that reason, “the V&A is delighted to become custodian of its incredible archive of him and to be able to open it up for public viewing,” he explained.
Hunt noted that “radical innovations in music, theatre, film, fashion and style, from Berlin to London to Tokyo, continue to influence design and visual culture and inspire the creations of artists including Janelle Monae, Lady Gaga, Tilda Swinton and Far Simons, among many others”.
Source: Clarin
