David Bowie V&A exhibition to be turned into permanent UK venue

The V&A’s David Bowie Is… exhibition will be turned into a permanent collection at a new London venue.

Containing an archive of more than 80,000 items from Bowie’s performances, videos and career, it will be able to visit at the new David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at the V&A’s East Storehouse, which is situated in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The exhibition first went on show in 2013, and its being turned into a permanent collection has been made possible by a £10 million donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group, with the collection being gifted to the V&A from Bowie’s estate. It is due open to the public in 2025.

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V&A Director Dr Tristram Hunt said: “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 to the public,” he continued.

“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.

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“Our new collections centre, V&A East Storehouse, is the ideal place to put Bowie’s work 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 for helping to make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow.”

The David Bowie Estate said that “with David’s life’s work becoming part of the UK’s national collections, he takes his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses”.

Isaac Muk is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter