The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has announced that it received a collection of more than 80,000 items from the archives of musician and actor David Bowie as well as a £10 million ($12 million) gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group.

The gifts will support creation of the David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at V&A East Storehouse, in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where the items will be displayed in 2025. The archives trace Bowie’s creative processes as a musical innovator, cultural icon, and advocate for self-expression and reinvention from his early career in the 1960s to his death in 2016. In addition to creating the center, the funding will support the ongoing conservation, research, and study of the archives. Gifted by Bowie’s estate, the collected archives include handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, Bowie’s personal instruments, album artwork, and awards. It also includes more intimate writings, thought processes, and unrealized projects, the majority of which have never been displayed in public. 

“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,” said V&A director Tristram Hunt. “My deepest thanks go to the David Bowie Estate, Blavatnik Family Foundation, and Warner Music Group for helping make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow.” 

(Photo credit: Unspash/Matthew Davis)