Friday, November 8, 2024

3:35 PM - 4:00 PM

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Details

Ana Muñoz and Lizzie Loughran, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom In early 2024 the V&A acquired the David Bowie Archive. Comprising over 80,000 items, the archive is an important portrait of one of the most ground-breaking and influential artists of all time. Spanning the entirety of Bowie’s career, it features letters, sheet music, handwritten lyrics, original costumes, photography, film, set designs, Bowie’s own instruments, album artwork and awards. It also includes more intimate writings, thought processes and unrealised projects, the majority of which have never been seen in public before. From 2025, this unparalleled collection will be made accessible to the public through the creation of The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts at V&A Storehouse in East London. The acquisition and creation of The Centre has been made possible thanks to the David Bowie Estate and a generous donation of £10m from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group. In our presentation, we will share the logistics behind transporting a major acquisition of such significance and scale from the United States to the United Kingdom via sea-freight. Using the shipment of the Bowie Archive as case study and drawing up from the Museum’s wide experience using sea-freight for touring exhibitions since 2004, we will reflect on the opportunities and challenges this means of transport presents. Topics like risks, costs, insurance and indemnity, preparation time, or innovation in remote supervision will be discussed, as well as the significant environmental benefits derived from opting for sea-freight, contributing to the reduction of the Museum's carbon footprint.

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