The official opening of The Box – Plymouth’s £44 million cultural and heritage complex – is now less than three months away and it is set to put the city on the map in a big way.
When open, The Box will be the biggest cultural centre in the South West. It is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors a year and provide a major boost to the local economy.
The project brings back to life three Grade II listed buildings – the former museum and art gallery, central library and St Luke’s Church.
The Box will open on May 16 with 13 new galleries and exhibition spaces, a new glass atrium, learning and research facilities and a brand new public square in Tavistock Place.
The weekend prior to the opening 6,000 local residents will be given the chance to preview The Box with tickets provided via a special ballot.
The Box’s stunning ‘archive in the sky’ is believed to be Europe’s largest bi-directional cantilever and will house over two million artworks, objects and documents that tell the story of Plymouth and its place in the world.
The ‘floating box’ was constructed with over 6,200 tonnes of concrete – the equivalent of more than 500 double decker buses.
The Box brings together six outstanding collections, including objects from Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, archives from the Plymouth and West Devon Record Office, film and photographs from the South West Film and Television Archive and South West Image Bank, furniture, texts, Old Master drawings and art from the Cottonian Collection, and incredible animal specimens from the Plymouth Natural History Collection.
This rich blend of collections will enable stories of international and local significance to be told through immersive experiences and amazing objects.
There will be learning spaces for schools and a teaching room for the University of Plymouth as well as meeting rooms, a shop and café.
Meanwhile St Luke’s Church has been transformed to create a gallery space which will attract national contemporary and traditional art exhibitions.
Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council said:
“We have an epic history and some incredible archives – from an Elizabethan document dating from 1587 that gave Sir Francis Drake permission to be a privateer, to the city’s Bomb Book and of course, the original pasty recipe.
“For too long, we haven’t been able to show them off. Part of The Box’s vision was to create a dramatic and suitable new home for Plymouth’s treasured collections and now we have one. This is cultural regeneration at its best.”
The three major exhibitions in the opening programme are:
- Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy will be the largest commemorative Mayflower exhibition in history with over 300 objects. Co-curated with the Wampanoag Native American Advisory Committee, it will turn history on its head.
- Making It: International contemporary art exhibition featuring newly commissioned works by Antony Gormley, Portuguese artist Leonor Antunes and Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha.
- Kehinde Wiley: A three-channel film work by Kehinde Wiley – the first digital work by this internationally renowned painter.
