A new London center dedicated to David Bowie will open on September 13 at the V&A Museum in Stratford, offering an in-depth look at his remarkable career. The facility will house over 90,000 items, including costumes, instruments, and unpublished works, along with previously unseen notes for a project called The Spectator, an 18th-century musical that Bowie was working on before his death in 2016. Guest-curated exhibits by Nile Rodgers and indie band The Last Dinner Party will also showcase how Bowie’s creativity influenced music and culture.
David Bowie was working on an "18th century" themed musical at the time of his death, which will feature in a new London center dedicated to the seminal British artist, the BBC reported Friday.
The V&A museum will open the free-to-access home for Bowie's vast archive in Stratford, east London, on September 13.
One exhibit will be notes from a previously unknown project called The Spectator, which he described as an "18th Century musical".
The work showcased Bowie's fascination with art and satire in 18th Century London, and drew inspiration from criminals of the time, including notorious thief "Honest" Jack Sheppard, according to notes shared with the BBC.
The walls of a locked room in Bowie's New York office were adorned with post-it notes for the project when he died in 2016, and were left unseen until his belongings were archived.
They will now be available to view at the center, which will also host guest-curated displays, notably from disco pioneer and super-producer Nile Rodgers, who collaborated with Bowie on his Let's Dance album.
His selections include a suit, made by opera costume designer Peter Hall, worn during the Serious Moonlight tour. Rodgers also picked out rare photographs and personal correspondence reflecting their shared "love of the music that had both made and saved our lives".
Brit Award-winning indie rockers The Last Dinner Party will also curate, showcasing objects primarily from the 1970s that highlight how Bowie inspired artists to "stand up for themselves and their music".
The center has over 90,000 items tracing Bowie's career, with visitors able to explore a trove of 414 costumes and accessories, nearly 150 musical instruments, extensive notes, diaries, lyrics, and unrealized projects.
"In the center, we want you to get closer to Bowie, and his creative process than ever before," said Madeleine Haddon, the collection's lead curator.
"For Bowie fans and those coming to him for the first time, we hope the center can inspire the next generation of creatives," she added.
Starting with Space Oddity in 1969, Bowie scored major hits over more than four decades, ranging from The Jean Genie and Heroes in the 1970s to Let's Dance and Modern Love in the 1980s to more recent hits like 2013's wistful Where Are We Now?
Many of became era-defining songs around the world, establishing Bowie as a popular music legend.
Bowie died of liver cancer two days after the release of his 25th studio album, Blackstar, which had come out on his 69th birthday.
With AFP
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