David Bowie archive of 80,000 items to be made public for the first time

Lianne Kolirin, CNN

Costumes, handwritten lyrics and musical instruments are among the more than 80,000 David Bowie items going on public show for the first time, after being acquired by London’s Victoria and Albert [V&A] Museum.

The collection will be available from 2025 at The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at the V&A East Storehouse, which is currently under construction in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The archive aims to reveal “the creative processes of one of the most pioneering and influential figures in the history of live and recorded music, film, fashion and beyond,” according to a press release announcing the news from the V&A Thursday.

The archive traces Bowie’s reinvention from his early career in the 1960s to his death in January 2016. Among the many gems featured will be handwritten letters and sheet music, set designs, instruments, awards, album artwork and much more.

According to the museum, it also features “more intimate writings, thought processes and unrealised projects, the majority of which have never been seen in public before.”

Bowie was celebrated for his dazzling stage costumes and among the highlights in the collection are his “Ziggy Stardust” ensembles, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972, Kansai Yamamoto’s creations for the “Aladdin Sane” tour a year later and the Union Jack coat that Bowie designed with Alexander McQueen for the 1997 “Earthling” album cover.

Fans will delight in seeing the handwritten lyrics for hits such as “Fame,” “Heroes” and “Ashes to Ashes,” as well as examples of Bowie’s “cut up” writing method inspired by writer William Burroughs, where he would cut up a line of words and rearrange them to come up with new lines and meanings.

The new development follows the 2013 exhibition by the V&A called David Bowie Is… which, according to the museum, was seen by more than 2 million people as part of its international tour.

Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, said in the release: “David Bowie was one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time. The V&A is thrilled to become custodians of his incredible archive, and to be able to open it up for the public.

“Bowie’s radical innovations across music, theatre, film, fashion, and style — from Berlin to Tokyo to London — continue to influence design and visual culture and inspire creatives from Janelle Monáe to Lady Gaga to Tilda Swinton and Raf Simons.”

Included in the release was a statement from Swinton herself, who was a friend of Bowie’s.

The Oscar-winning actress said the 2013 exhibition had proved that, “Bowie is a spectacular example of an artist, who not only made unique and phenomenal work, but who has an influence and inspiration far beyond that work itself.”

She added: “Ten years later, the continuing regenerative nature of his spirit grows ever further in popular resonance and cultural reach down through younger generations.”

A spokesperson from the David Bowie Estate welcomed the move, saying it put the singer-songwriter in “his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses.”

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