Nile Rodgers guest-curates at new David Bowie Centre in London

RTÉ News​

21 hours ago

Chic star Nile Rodgers has guest-curated a display for the new David Bowie Centre, including personal correspondence between the two singers.
London's V&A Museum, which is behind the new David Bowie Centre, said Rodgers has also selected a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight Tour for the Let's Dance album.
Photographs of Bowie, Rodgers, and guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan recording Let's Dance in New York will also feature.
The David Bowie Centre will open within the museum's new East Storehouse in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Stratford, east London, on 13 September, where it will host items including costumes worn during the singer's Ziggy Stardust period.
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."
Rodgers produced Bowie's single Let's Dance and the 1983 album of the same name.
He also produced Bowie's 1993 album Black Tie White Noise, and the personal correspondence in the exhibition relates to the latter.
Brit Award-winning indie rock band The Last Dinner Party have also curated part of the exhibition, describing Bowie as a "constant source of inspiration to us".
Their items include Bowie's elaborate handwritten lyrics for his song Win and notes and set lists for his 1976 Isolar tour.
The band said: "David Bowie continues to inspire generations of artists like us to stand up for ourselves.
"It was such a thrill to explore Bowie's archive and see first-hand the process that went into his world-building and how he created a sense of community and belonging for those that felt like outcasts or alienated - something that's really important to us in our work too."
Access to the David Bowie Centre will be free, with tickets released nearer its opening.
The David Bowie Archive, which boasts more than 90,000 items, was acquired by the V&A with the help of the David Bowie Estate, the Blavatnik Family Foundation, and Warner Music Group.
The centre will be spread across three zones, which will include curated displays, audiovisual installations, and quieter study areas, allowing visitors to view the Bowie archive on their own, from musical instruments to stage models.
Small displays will tell the stories behind the singer's albums and also look at his multi-dimensional creative approach, including unrealised projects, collaborations, and influences.
The East Storehouse opened at the end of May and features the Order An Object initiative, allowing visitors to pre-book to see an item from its entire collection.