David Bowie Is

David Bowie Is
Title	David Bowie Is
Dates	2013–2018
Curator	Victoria Broackes; Geoffrey Marsh
Venue	Victoria and Albert Museum; Brooklyn Museum; Musée du Petit Palais; Art Gallery of Ontario; other venues
Subject	David Bowie

David Bowie Is An international museum exhibition curated by Victoria and Albert Museum curators Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh showcasing the life, career, and cultural impact of David Bowie. The exhibition combined stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, photographs, film clips, and set designs from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection alongside loans from private collectors, estates, and institutions such as the British Library, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the estate of David Bowie. Presented across multiple major institutions, the show explored Bowie's collaborations with figures including Mick Rock, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Brett Morgen, and Tony Visconti.

Background and conception

The exhibition was conceived at the Victoria and Albert Museum by curators who drew on archives at the British Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery, London, and the British Film Institute to contextualize Bowie's work alongside contemporaries like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Lou Reed, and Roxy Music. Early planning involved negotiations with the David Bowie estate, representatives of Anglo-American record labels such as EMI Records, RCA Records, and Columbia Records and collaborations with photographers including Helmut Newton, Masayoshi Sukita, and Brian Duffy. The curatorial team consulted costume designers Kansai Yamamoto and Yves Saint Laurent archives, theatre designers from Royal Opera House, and filmmakers linked to Warner Bros., shaping a narrative that linked Bowie's musical output to visual artists and institutions like Andy Warhol, Tin Machine, and Patti Smith.

Exhibition design and content

Designers developed immersive galleries featuring costumes by Kansai Yamamoto and stagewear associated with tours promoted by Columbia Records and ISO Records. Multimedia displays included film excerpts directed by David Mallet, visuals by Brett Schultz, and projection work connecting Bowie to photographers Mick Rock, Masayoshi Sukita, Helmut Newton, and Anton Corbijn. The sequence of rooms traced personas such as Ziggy Stardust, references to the film The Man Who Fell to Earth, collaborations with Brian Eno, and links to theatrical productions at the National Theatre and Broadway—with artifacts loaned from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, private collectors, the David Bowie Archive, and fashion houses like Alexander McQueen.

Tour and venues

Originally premiered at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the exhibition toured to major venues including the Brooklyn Museum in New York City, Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Musée du Petit Palais in Paris, and museums in Melbourne and São Paulo. Partner institutions involved the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, National Gallery of Victoria, Palais Galliera, and regional partners such as the Southbank Centre and Barbican Centre. The touring schedule required coordination with logistics firms, conservation teams from the V&A, and lenders including the British Library, Getty Conservation Institute, and private archives associated with Tony Visconti and Iggy Pop.

Reception and impact

Critics from publications like The Guardian, The New York Times, The Telegraph, Le Monde, and The Globe and Mail evaluated the exhibition's scholarship and spectacle, comparing its influence to landmark shows at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern. Attendance records placed it among blockbuster exhibitions that had previously featured The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Frida Kahlo, prompting commentary from curators at the V&A, directors from the Brooklyn Museum, and journalists at Rolling Stone and NME. Academic responses referenced cultural studies from University of Oxford, King's College London, Columbia University, and New York University examining Bowie’s relationships with collaborators such as Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Mick Ronson, and designers like Kansai Yamamoto.

Catalogue and merchandise

The exhibition catalogue, published in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum and Thames & Hudson, featured essays by Geoffrey Marsh, Victoria Broackes, and contributors from University of Cambridge, Birkbeck, University of London, and Goldsmiths, University of London alongside photographs by Mick Rock, Masayoshi Sukita, and Anton Corbijn. Official merchandise ranged from books and posters to licensed reproductions of stage costumes produced in partnership with fashion houses and retailers such as Harrods and Selfridges, and included audio components tied to RCA Records, Columbia Records, and the David Bowie estate.

Legacy and subsequent uses

The exhibition catalyzed renewed scholarship at institutions including Victoria and Albert Museum, British Library, University of London, and museums in North America and Europe and inspired touring shows and retrospectives at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and regional galleries like the National Portrait Gallery, Australia. Archival materials were accessioned by the V&A and loaned to research projects at King's College London and Birkbeck, and influenced exhibitions featuring artists such as Brian Eno, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop. The model of multimedia, object-led curation shaped subsequent exhibitions at the Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, and Brooklyn Museum.

Category:Exhibitions