David Bowie in Time

Ten years after the death of David Bowie this landmark gathering of writers, filmmakers, musicians, artists and critics reflects on key points in his creative career, and Bowie’s own fascination with time.

Bowie never stayed still: shifting personas and playing with temporality in his work: looping time forward and back: ever aware of impermanence but never ceasing to create.

Across conversations and performance, we invite audiences to experience the artist anew and reflect on not only how time changed Bowie but how he changed our perceptions of it through his art, music, identity, fame and the fleeting beauty of being alive.

The day begins with a screening of the acclaimed film Five Years by Francis Whately, after which the documentary maker himself joins writer and pop culture commentator Paul Morley, author of Far Above the World: The Time and Space of David Bowie and broadcaster Samira Ahmed for our first panel of the day.

Blixa Bargeld, Gudrun Gut, Mark Reeder and Arsalan Mohammed explore the period nearly fifty years ago when Bowie underwent an extraordinary creative renewal in West Berlin, and left an indelible mark its artistic landscape. Just as the Cold War capital existed between eras and worlds, Bowie’s Berlin years captured an artist amid both disintegration and discovery.

We then mark ten years since David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, with its band leader: the saxophonist Donny McCaslin, musician, producer and author Dr Leah Kardos and designer Jonathan Barnbrook. They talk to Mary Anne Hobbs about this thrilling last record, on which Bowie turned time into a final artistic riddle: collapsing past personas, biblical imagery and cosmic futurism into a singular meditation on mortality and transcendence.

We then meet Bowieverse royalty, the legendary producer Tony Visconti, in conversation with writer, director and actor Nicholas Pegg. 

The day ends with songs of David Bowie performed by Blixa Bargeld and Nikko Weidemann, and DJs Gudrun Gut and Mark Reeder. 

With further special guests and full programme to be announced.

Please note that the screening of Five Years, and the closing performance are not included in the online version of this event. The livestream will run from 12:15 to approximately 19:30 on the day, with all sessions subsequently available for seven days on catch up.

In association with David Bowie: Albumtoalbum podcast.

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