A Ziggy Stardust-era guitar, handwritten lyrics with doodles from ★ (Blackstar) and unseen Labyrinth Polaroids are among more than 100 rare items from David Bowie’s archive set to go on display across the UK for the first time as part of the V&A’s new national touring programme, David Bowie: On Tour.

Opening at V&A Dundee on 4 November 2026, the national tour will bring Bowie’s costumes, instruments, notebooks and previously unseen material to venues in Dundee, Blackpool, County Durham, Hull, Bristol and more between 2026 and 2028.

It marks the first time highlights from Bowie’s personal archive have been shown on this scale outside London, offering audiences across the UK the chance to see the objects and thinking behind Bowie’s music, image and performances up close.

David Bowie: On Tour will open at V&A Dundee (November 2026 to February 2027), before travelling to Showtown in Blackpool (June to September 2027), the Bowes Museum in County Durham (October 2027 to January 2028), Ferens Art Gallery in Hull (February to May 2028), and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (June to September 2028). Further venues will be announced in due course.

David Bowie: On Tour explores Bowie’s creative process across music, performance, film and visual identity, revealing how he continually reinvented his work over five decades.

Standout objects include a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar displayed for the first time, Bowie’s handwritten lyrics and notes, and striking stage costumes from key moments in his career. Visitors will also see unseen Polaroids from make-up and costume fittings for music videos and films including Labyrinth, detailed set designs, and notebooks mapping out albums and tours.

The tour features rare material from Bowie’s Berlin years, including handwritten lyrics, experimental recording notes and personal items such as keys to his Berlin apartment. From the Let’s Dance era, there are previously unseen lyrics and designs linked to the Serious Moonlight tour.

Material from Bowie’s final works is also included, which has never been on public display before, with handwritten lyrics from ★ (Blackstar), performance notes and a hand-painted costume worn in the ‘Lazarus’ video offering insight into his last creative projects.

A section dedicated to film and screen work features storyboards, scripts and props from productions including The Man Who Fell to Earth and Labyrinth, alongside unseen treatments and video concepts.

The tour concludes with personal archive material revealing Bowie’s working methods, including his first instrument, a saxophone bought for him by his father in 1961, as well as handwritten to-do lists, plans for unrealised projects, including and items showing how he organised ideas for future 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.”

The David Bowie archive, acquired by the V&A in 2024, comprises more than 90,00

items spanning the artist’s career, from instruments and costumes to designs, photographs and personal papers. Alongside the tour, the archive is housed permanently at V&A East Storehouse in east London, where visitors can access selected material by its free Order an Object and Archives Appointments services.

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For further PRESS information about David Bowie: On Tour and the David Bowie archive, please contact Laura Mitchell: l.mitchell@vam.ac.uk / 020 7942 2502 (not for publication).

About V&A’s David Bowie: On Tour

The V&A’s David Bowie: On Tour marks the first time 100 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.

Confirmed David Bowie: On Tour stops so far:

• V&A Dundee (November 2026 –February 2027)

• 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)

• Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (June–September 2028)

• More venues to be added

About the V&A

The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity. Our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators everywhere. We share a 5,000-year-old story of creativity through exhibitions, events, educational programmes, digital experiences, conservation, research, and an ever-evolving national collection of over 2.8m objects spanning every creative discipline.

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