David Bowie’s archive is going on a UK tour – here’s where you can see his outfits and instruments

What do a Grafton Alto saxophone, a stopwatch and a metallic silver clown costume all have in common? If you guessed that they all belonged to music legend David Bowie, well, that’s some impressive fan knowledge. What you might not know, though, is that these objects are among more than 100 artefacts in the Thin White Duke’s archive about to embark on a tour of the country.

Yep, the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has announced a national tour of some of the biggest highlights from its extensive archive of items once belonging to the superstar of Sound and Vision. The museum’s collection, usually housed at V&A East Storehouse in London, comprises more than 90,000 items spanning Bowie’s career, from iconic costumes and musical instruments to handwritten lyrics, photographs, stage designs and personal notes.

Now, a selection of Bowie’s legendary costumes, musical instruments, career spanning photography and personal treasures have been picked out of the archive to hit the road.

David Bowie: On Tour will kick off at V&A Dundee in November 2026 before visiting Blackpool’s Showtown in June 2027 and then travelling to the Bowes Museum in County Durham, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull and finally Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Further venues are expected to be announced following these five stops. 

The specific items you’ll feast your eyes on will include never-before-seen objects including Polaroids of make-up tests, a Ziggy Stardust-era acoustic guitar, unrealised scripts, and handwritten lyrics, performance notes and costumes from Bowie’s final albums, The Next Day and ★ (Blackstar).

As for how they’ll be arranged, the exhibition will be split into four different sections. The first, ‘Bowie Through a Lens’, will look at the way photography shaped the music icon’s image and identity. It’ll feature work by Terry O’Neill, Mick Rock, Sukita and Brian Ward.

The second section, ‘All the Somebody People’, will dig into Bowie’s onstage performances and recording studio sessions across four defining eras – Ziggy Stardust (featuring an acoustic guitar from the era on display for the very first time), Bowie’s Berlin (a look at his pioneering use of techniques and recording equipment in the studio with Tony Visconti and Brian Eno), Let’s Dance (digging into the blueprint for his major stadium tours) and ★ (Blackstar), offering new insight into the album’s creation.

RECOMMENDED: The best museums in the UK.

The third section, called ‘Hooked to the Silver Screen’, will showcase Bowie’s performances in TV and film, while the final section, ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’, gets a little bit more personal, displaying the items and personal possessions Bowie chose to save throughout the years.

David Bowie: On Tour kicks off in Dundee in November, and tickets will go on sale in late September, with priority booking for V&A Dundee Members. You can find out more on the exhibition website.

Did you see that a new art gallery is opening in the UK with works by Tracey Emin, David Shrigley, Steve McQueen and more?

Plus: why Manchester Museum is one of the best in the UK right now.