V&A Dundee to launch UK tour of David Bowie archive with major new exhibition

The exhibition will come to Dundee this November (Picture: Wikimedia Commons)

A major exhibition celebrating the life and career of David Bowie will open at V&A Dundee this autumn.

The museum becomes the first venue to host a new nationwide tour showcasing treasures from the legendary artist’s archive.

Running from November until February 2027, David Bowie: On Tour will feature around 100 objects drawn from the extensive David Bowie archive.

Several of the items have never previously been displayed to the public, offering visitors a rare opportunity to explore material spanning different stages of Bowie’s groundbreaking career.

Among the highlights will be original costumes from Bowie’s iconic Ziggy Stardust era, including designs by Freddie Burretti and Kansai Yamamoto.

Visitors will also be able to see tour sketches from the period, alongside an acoustic guitar used during performances connected to the influential character.

The exhibition has been organised as a national partnership, with V&A Dundee acting as the opening venue before the collection travels to museums and galleries across the UK over the following two years.

Additional displays will explore other defining moments from Bowie’s career, including personal items from his time living in Berlin during the recording of Low and Heroes.

The exhibition will also feature concept artwork created for the Low album cover, the striking Natasha Korniloff-designed costume worn in the Ashes to Ashes music video, a clapperboard from the filming of The Man Who Fell to Earth, and the Grafton Alto saxophone bought for Bowie by his father in 1961.

Following its Dundee debut, the exhibition will continue its tour with stops in Blackpool, County Durham, Hull and Bristol between 2027 and 2028. Organisers have confirmed that further venues are expected to be announced.

The touring exhibition follows the opening of the David Bowie Centre at the V&A Storehouse last year, where the artist’s archive is permanently housed.

Regarded as one of Britain’s most influential musicians, Bowie continually reinvented both his music and image throughout a career spanning more than five decades.

From glam rock classics including The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane, to his acclaimed Berlin Trilogy and later experimental releases, his work left an enduring mark on popular music.

Bowie achieved 11 UK number one albums and five UK number one singles during his lifetime.

His catalogue includes timeless songs such as Space Oddity, Heroes, Ashes to Ashes and Sound and Vision, while collaborations with artists including Queen, Mick Jagger and Trent Reznor further cemented his reputation as one of music’s most innovative performers.

His final studio album, Blackstar, was released in January 2016, just two days before his death at the age of 69.