The V&A has announced a new national tour of David Bowie’s personal archive, bringing over 100 items from the late star’s collection to venues across the UK. The archive, which comprises more than 90,000 possessions, is housed at the V&A East Storehouse in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Titled ‘David Bowie: On Tour’, the programme will kick off at V&A Dundee in November 2026, running until February 2027. It will then visit 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). Further venues are to be confirmed.
Highlights include Bowie’s legendary costumes, musical instruments, career-spanning photography, and never-before-seen items such as Polaroids from make-up and costume fittings. Also on display will be a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, handwritten lyrics, performance notes, and costumes from his final albums, ‘The Next Day’ and ‘Blackstar’.
Sir Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, said: ‘David Bowie: On Tour is a landmark national partnership for the V&A, bringing highlights from David Bowie’s extraordinary archive to audiences across the UK for the first time.’ Harriet Reed, Curator of Contemporary Performance, added: ‘David Bowie’s archive reveals an artist in constant motion… It’s a rare chance to step inside Bowie’s imagination.’
The touring archive will be arranged in four sections: ‘Bowie Through A Lens’ (photography), ‘All The Somebody People’ (live performances and studio sessions), ‘Hooked To The Silver Screen’ (music videos, film and TV work), and ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’ (his interest in time and legacy). Organisers describe it as the first time highlights from Bowie’s archive have been shared on this scale outside London.
