The Box Plymouth

About us

The Box is Plymouth's new museum, art gallery and cultural centre.

Nine permanent galleries will showcase The Box’s incredible collections and will include 14 monumental ships’ figureheads, thousands of natural history specimens, a full-size woolly mammoth replica, paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and ceramics from the city’s art collections, objects, film and photography from its media collections and documents, maps and plans from its archives.

The Box will also open with three major exhibitions:

Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy

‘Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy’ is the national commemorative exhibition for the Mayflower 400 anniversary.

It’s Plymouth’s largest loans exhibition ever and has been co-curated with the Wampanoag Advisory Committee to Plymouth 400 in the USA.

Forget everything you thought you knew about the Mayflower. The exhibition will debunk myths and explore how one ship connects four nations over 400 years.

Powerful perspectives will be shared through images, ideas and objects including the first Bible to be printed in America, the last known record of the Mayflower, the oldest existing state document of New England, drawings, diaries, maps, plans and portraits, and the first piece of Wampanoag art commissioned by the city.

It will feature 300 items, on loan from 100 museums, libraries and archives from around the world, including Native American items from The National Museum of the American Indian and the Harvard Peabody collection.

The exhibition will be free to Plymouth residents and under 18s. Tickets for non-residents will be just £5.

Making It 

‘Making It’ is the first contemporary art exhibition at The Box and aims to contrast the labour intensive process of making and Plymouth’s history as a city of makers with the ‘fifteen minutes of fame’ culture that exists in today’s social media age.

The exhibition includes works by five international artists: Leonor Antunes, Eva Grubinger, Alexandre da Cunha, Christopher Baker and Antony Gormley.

Portuguese artist Leonor Antunes’ work responds to the renovated architecture of St Luke’s church. A new floor work and a series of rope elements interconnect with hanging brass sculptures and glass coloured lights . These will be shown alongside the stained glass window Antunes is creating for the building.

Austrian sculptor and installation artist Eva Grubinger focusses on everyday objects. Her ‘Fender’ is a giant ship’s fender made from vulcanized rubber and steel that dovetails with many of the maritime objects in The Box’s collections. It will be near the suspended flotilla of 14 monumental ship’s figureheads, referencing Plymouth’s history as a major naval, shipping and fishing port as well as a place of exploration and expedition.

Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha’s uses existing and found items, inviting audiences to see them with a new perspective. His sculpture ‘Figurehead II’ is made up of four stacked chamber drainage rings, stands over six metres tall and its stature makes a direct reference to the post-war buildings and reconstruction of Plymouth. 

Chicago-based artist Christopher Baker’s explores the relationship between society and technology. ‘Hello World! Or: How I Learned to Stop Listening and Love the Noise’ is a large audio-visual installation comprising 5,000 video diaries gathered from the internet. Each one features a person speaking candidly from a private space such as a bedroom or kitchen. 

Viewers can listen to individual speakers or immerse themselves in the overall ‘wall of sound’. The installation explores how social platforms give people the chance to be heard, but the more people speak, the more they drown each other out.

Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools)

The Box’s opening programme is completed by Kehinde Wiley’s video installation ‘Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools)’, which is presented in partnership with The Arts Institute in the Levinsky Gallery at the University of Plymouth. 

The artist, who painted former US President Barack Obama’s portrait in 2017, looks at historical and contemporary histories of migration, connecting with Plymouth’s past as a starting point of great voyages. The work was acquired in 2018 through the Contemporary Art Society’s prestigious Collections Fund Prize and will be accompanied by a 1498 book also called ‘The Ship of Fools’ from The Box’s nationally important Cottonian Collection.

The ‘Making It’ and ‘Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools)’ exhibitions will be free.

Food and Drink

The Box Kitchen & Bar and The Little Box café will be serving a range of tasty meals and snacks (advance booking recommended). A new shop will also be open and will offer a ‘click and collect’ service for those who want to maximise their time in the galleries and exhibitions or browse online before or after their visit.

Safety Measures

In preparation for opening, The Box has put a number of safety and social distancing measures in place to help visitors feel as comfortable as possible. These include:

• Free admission by advance ticket only, with an easy to follow booking system on The Box's website (tickets can be booked from 10 September)
• Face coverings must be worn 
• Reduced capacity and clearly marked one way systems in key areas of circulation
• Increased invigilation by staff and volunteers
• Hand sanitising facilities and enhanced cleaning
• A temporary reduction in on site events alongside an enhanced digital offer

Memberships

You can support The Box by becoming a member. Members will receive exclusive offers, special behind-the-scenes glimpses and unlimited free entry to chargeable exhibitions. Find out more on The Box's website. 

This major redevelopment scheme is led by Plymouth City Council in partnership with the University of Plymouth and the National Museum of the Royal Navy. It is supported by the City Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, Coastal Communities Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, University of Plymouth, Wolfson Foundation, British Film Institute and Interreg.