The V&A East Storehouse’s upcoming David Bowie archive now has an official opening date

First announced in back 2023, the finer details of the V&A East Storehouse’s new David Bowie Centre have finally been revealed. 

The V&A East Storehouse opened in May this year. Spoiler: it’s amazing. But visitors have had to wait a bit longer for the arrival of the massive David Bowie archive, which will contain more than 80,000 items and span six decades of the life of Ziggy Stardust. 

It’s been revealed that the David Bowie Centre will officially open on September 13 2025. And that isn’t the only additional info that the V&A has revealed – we also now know more about the opening exhibits, which are going to be curated by BRIT-winning indie band The Last Dinner Party and living musical legend Nile Rodgers. 

Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s albums Let’s Dance and Black Tie White Noise has selected items including personal correspondence between himself and Bowie, a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight tour and Chuck Pulin photographs of Bowie, Rodgers and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan recording Let's Dance in New York

Rodgers said: ‘My creative life with David Bowie provided the greatest success of his incredible career, but our friendship was just as rewarding. Our bond was built on a love of the music that had both made and saved our lives.’

The Last Dinner Party have mainly selected items from the 1970s which show how Bowie continues to inspire musicians today. Their choices include Bowie’s handwritten lyrics for ‘Win’ from the 1974 album Young Americans, setlists from the 1976 Station to Station tour, and Bowie's Electronic Music Studios (EMS) synthesiser user manual. 

As well as the guest-curated exhibitions, the free-to-enter gallery will have nine displays showing everything from photographs to clothing, and drawings, and will include insights into unrealised projects. Plus, the V&A’s fantastic order-an-object service will be included in the Bowie archive, meaning visitors can book one-on-one time with items from the archive. 

First look: inside the mind-blowing new V&A East Storehouse in Stratford. 

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