London’s newest cultural destination will offer unprecedented access to the icon’s creative process through interactive displays and one-on-one archive sessions
London music fans and cultural enthusiasts have something extraordinary to look forward to this autumn. The V&A East Storehouse’s brand-new David Bowie Centre opens its doors on September 13, 2025, promising to bring visitors closer to the legendary artist’s creative genius than ever before.
The free-admission centre, housed within the V&A East Storehouse at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will showcase David Bowie’s extensive archive of over 90,000 items through nine rotating displays. What makes this particularly special is the inclusion of guest-curated exhibitions by some remarkable collaborators: Nile Rodgers, the producer behind Bowie’s massive hit “Let’s Dance,” and Brit Award-winning indie rock band The Last Dinner Party.
A Treasure Trove of Bowie’s Creative Process
The archive itself is staggering in scope, encompassing everything from 414 costumes and accessories to nearly 150 musical instruments, 187 awards, handwritten lyrics, personal correspondence, and over 70,000 photographic items. Highlights include iconic stage costumes like the Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane ensembles designed by Freddie Burretti and Kansai Yamamoto, plus handwritten lyrics for classics like “Fame,” “Heroes,” and “Ashes to Ashes.”
Perhaps most intriguingly, the displays will reveal unrealised projects that never came to fruition, including Bowie’s idea to adapt George Orwell’s “1984” and planned films for “Young Americans” and “Diamond Dogs.”
Star-Studded Curation
Nile Rodgers’ contribution focuses on what he describes as his and Bowie’s shared “love of the music that had both made and saved our lives.” His selection includes a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn during the Serious Moonlight tour, photographs from the “Let’s Dance” recording sessions featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan, and personal correspondence between the two artists about the 1993 “Black Tie White Noise” album.
The Last Dinner Party, whose electrifying performance style draws clear inspiration from Bowie, have curated items primarily from the 1970s that showcase how the icon continues to inspire new generations of artists. Their selection includes intimate Mick Rock studio photographs, Bowie’s elaborate handwritten lyrics for “Win,” and his Electronic Music Studios synthesiser manual from the influential “Berlin trilogy” albums.
“David Bowie continues to inspire generations of artists like us to stand up for ourselves,” explained the band members. “When we first started developing ideas for TLDP, we took a similar approach to Bowie developing his Station to Station album – we had a notebook and would write words we wanted to associate with the band.”
Interactive and Immersive Experience
Beyond the curated displays, the David Bowie Centre offers something truly unique: visitors can book one-on-one appointments to examine specific items from the archive through the V&A’s new “Order an Object” service. Whether you’re fascinated by his costumes, instruments, or personal effects, you can arrange to see up to five items per visit with at least two weeks’ notice.
The centre also features an interactive installation tracing Bowie’s widespread cultural impact, from references in the sitcom “Friends” to influences on fashion designers like Issey Miyake and contemporary musicians including Lady Gaga, Charli XCX, Janelle Monáe, and Kendrick Lamar.
A central space includes overhead rails displaying some of Bowie’s most iconic fashion pieces in hanging Tyvek bags, ranging from Freddie Burretti’s Ziggy Stardust looks to Agnès b’s Heathen ensembles and even Bowie’s 1992 Thierry Mugler wedding suit.
A Working Archive for Future Generations
The David Bowie Centre isn’t just a museum display – it’s a functioning archive and research facility. The centre includes reading and study rooms where researchers and fans can schedule appointments to examine paper-based materials including sketches, designs, writings, lyrics, and photographic prints.
“Bowie embodied a truly multidisciplinary practice—musician, actor, writer, performer, and cultural icon—reflecting the way many young creatives today move fluidly across disciplines,” noted Madeleine Haddon, Curator at V&A East. “His fearless engagement with self-expression and performance has defined contemporary culture and resonates strongly with the values of authenticity, experimentation and freedom.”
The David Bowie archive was acquired by the V&A through the generosity of the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, and Warner Music Group, joining over 1,000 other archives from creative luminaries including Vivien Leigh, the House of Worth, and The Glastonbury Festival Archive.
Planning Your Visit
The David Bowie Centre opens September 13, 2025, as part of V&A East Storehouse at East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. While access is free, it operates on a ticketed system, with tickets to be released closer to the opening date.
The V&A East Storehouse itself is open seven days a week from 10:00-18:00, with extended late-night openings every Thursday and Saturday until 22:00. These late nights provide access to the Order an Object service, special events, and the on-site café, e5 Storehouse.
For Bowie fans, music lovers, and anyone interested in the creative process of one of Britain’s most influential cultural figures, the David Bowie Centre promises to be an essential London cultural destination. It offers not just a glimpse into the mind of a genius, but an interactive journey through the creative processes that shaped contemporary music and culture.
Tickets and more information will be available at vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/david-bowie-centre as the opening date approaches.
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