News Articles
History - Jun 2023
Archives insight: Refugee Week 2023 - Meet the Huguenots
For this year's 'Refugee Week' we're looking at the story of the Huguenots - French Protestants who took refuge in some of our towns and cities, including Plymouth, in the late 1600s. They brought a range of valuable skills with them and introduced the word ‘refugee’ into the English language.
History - Jun 2023
Archives insight: A dream of a new life overseas
Have you been watching the BBC's latest historical drama 'Ten Pound Poms'? This image from our archives shows a family about to embark on the scheme that saw over a million people try and make their homes in Australia.
Press Release - Jun 2023
The Box joins national 20/20 project aimed at investing in diverse artists
The Box has joined a national commissioning and network programme that is directly investing in the careers of a new generation of ethnically minoritised and diverse artists.
Press Release - Jun 2023
A summer season of light and colour
As part of a season exploring the themes of light and colour, The Box will be marking the 300th anniversary of Sir Joshua Reynolds' birth and collaborating with artist Rana Begum RA this summer.
Art - May 2023
‘Card Table’ by Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) was one of the most significant British female artists of the twentieth century. She was born in St Andrews, Scotland but after relocating to St Ives she became one of the central figures there. This work is an oil on hardboard dating from the late 1960s and was gifted to our collections in 1976 by the Contemporary Art Society.
Art - May 2023
Sue Williamson: Monument I and Monument II
This pair of screen prints in artist Sue Williamson's 'Between Memory and Forgetting' exhibition (until 4 June) date from 1981. They mark the beginning of her preoccupation with monuments, and the way in which people in power try to tell and celebrate their stories for future generations.
Press Release - May 2023
The Box announced as a partner for Imperial War Museums’ national art commissioning programme
The Box is proud to announce that it’s been selected to be part of the IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund, a national partnership programme of over 20 artist commissions inspired by the heritage of conflict.
Press Release - May 2023
Quinlan and Hastings: Mapping the queer landscape
Through their work, Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings explore the history, politics and iconography of queer culture; mapping the queer landscape in a variety of ways that place underrepresented narratives in the spotlight. Explore this in more detail through ‘Gaby’, a 2018 film work that is currently playing in their ‘Portraits’ exhibition.
News - Apr 2023
Stuart Road Primary Academy joins us for The Wild Escape
During the last few months The Box and students from Stuart Road Primary Academy have partnered to take part in Art Fund’s The Wild Escape. The project inspired by the landmark BBC series ‘Wild Isles’ united hundreds of museums and schools across the UK helping students to explore nature and creativity.
Art - Apr 2023
Sue Williamson: Colouring In
The basis for this work is a children's colouring in book, the title of which translates to 'My Anglo Boer War Colouring In'. The resulting work mixes the book's original illustrations with archive images, drawing parallels between the oppression suffered by Black South Africans during the Boer War and later under the Apartheid government.
Art - Apr 2023
‘Friend in my Studio’ by Rose Hilton
Rose Hilton (1931-2019) was the fourth of eight children born to Julia and Robert Phipps in Kent in August 1931. This pink-hued work is called ‘Friend in My Studio’. It was painted in 1978/9 and acquired for Plymouth’s collections in 1979 with the support of the V&A’s Purchase Grant Fund.
Art - Apr 2023
Quinlan and Hastings: Power and space
Through the use of drawings, etchings and films, artist duo Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings produce skilled and thought-provoking work that explores the various forms of authority, power and disorder that exist within our public spaces, and questions how social hierarchy, class, order and obedience are negotiated. Take a look at three works on display in their ‘Portraits’ exhibition (until 4 Jun) to learn more.