“Yeah! I ran to the street looking for information...”
Image: Polaroid from David Bowie's costume fittings for the character Jareth in the 1986 film, Labyrinth. One of the highlights from David Bowie’s archive travelling to venues across the UK for the V&A’s David Bowie: On Tour from November 2026.
Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum London
#DavidBowieOnTour
NEWS RELEASE:
V&A announces national tour of highlights from David Bowie’s archive – travelling across the UK from November 2026
Issue date: Wednesday 1 July 2026
• Over 100 highlights from the V&A’s David Bowie’s archive to go on show in Dundee, Blackpool, Hull, County Durham, Bristol and beyond
• Outside of London’s V&A East Storehouse, David Bowie: On Tour is the only opportunity to see such a range of items from Bowie’s personal archive up-close
• Tour gives rare glimpse into David Bowie’s creative process and how he shaped his iconic image, music, video, TV and film work
• Highlights include legendary costumes, musical instruments + career-spanning photography, plus never-before-seen items including Polaroids for make-up and costume fittings, a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, unrealised projects, handwritten lyrics, performance notes and costumes from Bowie’s final albums, The Next Day and ★ (Blackstar)
Today, the V&A and partner venues across the UK announce a landmark national tour celebrating the creativity and enduring cultural impact of David Bowie. Bringing together 100 highlights from the V&A’s David Bowie archive – many that have never been on public display before – David Bowie: On Tour will travel to venues across the UK across multiple years, kicking-off at V&A Dundee (November 2026 –February 2027).
Following its debut in Scotland, the tour continues to 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), with further venues to be announced in due course.
David Bowie: On Tour marks the first time highlights from David Bowie’s archive have been shared on this scale across the UK, outside of London, bringing Bowie’s story and creative imagination to new audiences across the country. This touring programme is part of the V&A’s commitment to widening access to its collections, ensuring audiences across the UK can experience their national collections where they live.
Across four sections, David Bowie: On Tour takes audiences behind the scenes into Bowie’s creative process, exploring how he created his ever-evolving image, music and screen work.
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. Working with our colleagues in museums and venues nationwide, we’re opening up Bowie’s story in the places connected to his life and legacy, ensuring people across the country can experience these remarkable objects where they live, and be inspired by his enduring creativity.”
Harriet Reed, Curator of Contemporary Performance at the V&A, said: “David Bowie’s archive reveals an artist in constant motion — a restless, forward-looking mind at work beyond the music and images we know. From fan art and his first instrument to unrealised projects, handwritten notes and unseen sketches, David Bowie: On Tour brings visitors up close to the ideas behind his work — including items from The Next Day and ★ (Blackstar) never shown before — offering new insight into how his creativity took shape. It’s a rare chance to step inside Bowie’s imagination and experience the curiosity and daring that defined his life’s work.”
About David Bowie: On Tour
David Bowie: On Tour unfolds across four sections, each offering a different lens on Bowie’s creative life.
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The opening section, ‘Bowie Through a Lens’, explores how photography shaped Bowie’s image and identity, featuring work by Terry O’Neill, Mick Rock, Sukita, Brian Ward and more.
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The second section, ‘All the Somebody People’ focuses on Bowie onstage and in the studio across four defining eras, revealing how he continually reinvented his sound and personas:
• Ziggy Stardust offers a case study in Bowie’s songwriting prowess and how he crafted his iconic persona, from Freddie Burretti and Kansai Yamamoto costumes to Bowie’s handwritten notes and cut-ups plotting the album, sketches for the tour, and a seminal acoustic guitar from the era – on display for the first time.
• Bowie’s Berlin years highlight his pioneering use of techniques and recording equipment in the studio with Tony Visconti and Brian Eno for albums Low (1977), “Heroes” (1977), and Lodger (1979). From Bowie’s keys to his apartment at Hauptstraße 155, Berlin, to his unseen sketches and concept art for the cover of Low, handwritten lyrics for Lodger’s ‘Look Back in Anger’, and the koto, the Japanese musical instrument, used by Bowie on ‘Moss Garden’ from “Heroes”.
• Let’s Dance reveals how Bowie created the blueprint for major stadium tours, with a series of unseen lyrics and a set design for the Serious Moonlight tour on show for the first time, alongside photography of studio recording sessions and the album’s cover shoot.
• ★ (Blackstar) explores Bowie’s symbolism in recalling previous eras through his final recording, with items including Bowie’s handwritten lyrics for the song ★ (Blackstar), and hand-painted costume for the ‘Lazarus’ music video, alongside performance notes and props, giving never-before-seen insight into the album’s creation.
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The third section, ‘Hooked to the Silver Screen’, reveals Bowie’s groundbreaking performances on screen, from him pushing the boundaries with his approach to music videos to his iconic film and TV roles and unexpected cameos. Highlights include:
• Bowie’s storyboard sketches and the Natasha Korniloff-designed costume for his ‘Ashes to Ashes’ music video (1980) to his collaborations with Flora Sigismondi for the ‘Little Wonder’ music video (1997) and unseen video treatments, scripts and props for ‘The Stars are Out Tonight’ video for The Next Day album (2013).
• Contact sheets from Bowie’s first ever film set, The Image (1967), the clapperboard used for The Man Who Fell to Earth (1975), his unseen prep-notes for Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983) and his script, character notes and Polaroids of costume fittings for his character Jareth in the 1986 fantasy film, Labyrinth – along with other Polaroids of make-up tests.
• Bowie’s further onscreen moments including his role as narrator for The Snowman (1982) and his star turn as Lord Royal Highness in 2006’s SpongeBob SquarePants movie, alongside a script for an episode of The Simpsons that Bowie politely declined.
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The final section, ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, explores Bowie’s interest in time, documenting his process and legacy. The items and personal possessions that Bowie chose to keep in his archive are revealing, showing a creative mind constantly thinking about the next project. Highlights include:
• Musical instruments and equipment, including Bowie’s first instrument, the Grafton Alto saxophone bought for him by his father in 1961 and the harmonica microphone used on his last live tour (A Reality Tour, 2003 – 2004).
• Personal items, such as fan art, the stopwatch he used when songwriting, his 1988 British passport and his advance copy of The Velvet Underground’s 1967 ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ record. Other items include a handwritten to-do list with the workshops, interviews and museum visits Bowie had planned, charts revealing the projects he wanted to achieve – and those that went unrealised, such as Bowie’s handwritten synopsis for a proposed TV film called The Catastrophy Cabinet dating to around 1974 – 1975.
• Items revealing Bowie organising his thoughts and planning for the future span his 1977 inventory of costumes to documents revealing his thought process and how he saw the music industry evolving, the song chart he used during the Earthling tour (1997) and post-it note conversations with his archive team about items he chose to hold onto.
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David Bowie: On Tour has been developed by V&A Touring and V&A National Programmes, in collaboration with partner venues across the UK, and is curated by Harriet Reed, Curator of Contemporary Performance at the V&A.
The David Bowie archive was acquired by the V&A in 2024 through the generosity of the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group. It comprises more than 90,000 items spanning Bowie’s extraordinary career, from iconic costumes and musical instruments to handwritten lyrics, photography, stage designs and personal papers. Visitors can book free one-to-one appointments with items from David Bowie’s archive through the V&A’s Order an Object and Archives Appointment services and also visit the David Bowie Centre – the archive’s permanent home – at V&A East Storehouse as part of East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
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