The V&A has announced a UK tour of David Bowie’s archive. Featuring highlights from the collection, David Bowie: On Tour will mark the first time the archive has travelled the UK on this scale, bringing it to audiences outside of London.
The landmark national tour will celebrate Bowie’s creativity and enduring cultural impact, bringing together over 100 highlights from the V&A’s David Bowie archive, many of which have never been on public display.
The exhibition will launch at V&A Dundee from November 2026 to February 2027 before touring to Showtown in Blackpool, the Bowes Museum in County Durham, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery through to September 2028. Additional venues will be announced in due course.
David Bowie: On Tour will launch at V&A Dundee, running from November 2026 to February 2027
Split into four sections, David Bowie: On Tour examines the artist’s creative process, charting the evolution of his image, music and screen work.
The first section, 'Bowie Through a Lens', will explore how photography shaped Bowie’s image and identity, with featured works by Terry O’Neill, Masayoshi Sukita, Mick Rock and Brian Ward.
Section two examines Bowie onstage and in the studio across four defining eras, revealing how he continually reinvented his sound and persona, from Ziggy Stardust to the Berlin years, Let's Dance, and Blackstar.
The third section, 'Hooked to the Silver Screen', explores Bowie’s groundbreaking on-screen performances, from music videos to iconic film and TV roles, with highlights including items from the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth.
David Bowie: On Tour includes iconic costumes, musical instruments and photographs spanning the artist's career
The final section, 'I Can’t Give Everything Away', will explore Bowie’s interest in time, documenting his process and legacy.
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."
Split into four sections, David Bowie: On Tour will examine the artist’s creative process
Highlights include iconic costumes, musical instruments and photographs spanning Bowie’s career, alongside previously unseen material such as Polaroids from make-up and costume fittings, a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, handwritten lyrics, performance notes, unrealised projects, and costumes from his final albums, The Next Day and Blackstar.
The archive first went on public display last year at its permanent home, the David Bowie Centre at the V&A East Storehouse in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London.
Images courtesy of David Parry and V&A
