Press Release Articles
Press Release - Jun 2026
The Box Plymouth wins £120,000 Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026 Award
The Box Plymouth has been announced as Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026. Victoria Pomery, CEO and members of the team were presented with the £120,000 prize – the largest museum prize in the world – by June Sarpong OBE, broadcaster and judge for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026, at a ceremony aboard Cutty Sark in Greenwich.
Press Release - Jun 2026
The Box secures major BFI funding to transform access to Southwest film heritage
The Box has secured a funding award of £330K across three years from the British Film Institute (BFI) to support and develop its nationally significant film archive as well as help safeguard and share the Southwest's screen heritage for future generations.
Press Release - Jun 2026
Beryl Cook exhibition smashes visitor target
We're delighted to announce that the hugely popular 'Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy' attracted nearly 104,000 visits during its run – exceeding its original target of 75,000 by almost 30,000. The exhibition, which celebrated the life and work of artist Beryl Cook and marked the centenary of her birth, proved to be the most successful show staged at The Box Plymouth since it opened in late September 2020.
Press Release - Apr 2026
The Box makes history: shortlisted for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026
The Box Plymouth has been named one of five finalists for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2026, the world's largest and most prestigious museum prize, putting the city on the national cultural map.
Press Release - Apr 2026
The Box Plymouth smashes records as landmark year delivers 356k visits
Plymouth's world-class cultural destination ends its fifth year with record-breaking figures, a blockbuster Beryl Cook exhibition drawing visitors from across the UK, and an ambitious summer season ahead.
Press Release - Mar 2026
Two new Beryl Cook sculptures join the family
Two new life-sized sculptures inspired by Beryl Cook’s much-loved painting Hips and Chips have been unveiled today near the Belvedere on Plymouth Hoe, adding to the growing trail across the waterfront and city centre that celebrates her life and work.
Press Release - Mar 2026
Plymouth not selected for next stage of UK City of Culture competition
Plymouth has just heard that is hasn’t been longlisted and will not progress to the next stage of the UK City of Culture 2029 competition. While this is very disappointing news for the city, the bid process has already shown the strength of Plymouth’s cultural ambition and the extraordinary level of support for culture from residents, creatives, businesses, organisations and communities across the city.
Press Release - Feb 2026
The Box celebrates record-breaking year as visitor numbers continue to rise
One month after its landmark 'Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy' exhibition launched, The Box has officially recorded its busiest year since it opened in 2020.
Press Release - Feb 2026
The Box and Arts University Plymouth launch ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ Children and Young People’s Open
Free to enter and open to ages 0–25 across the South West, ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ invites young artists to explore the theme of ‘Art and Emotion’, with selected works set to be displayed at The Box this summer.
Press Release - Feb 2026
The Box is the Museum in Residence at Downing Street
The Box has been selected as Museum in Residence at Downing Street for 2026, bringing Plymouth's remarkable artistic and maritime heritage to the nation's most iconic address.
Press Release - Jan 2026
Beryl Cook's characters come to life across Plymouth
Life-size sculptures celebrate Britain's most popular painter in her centenary year.
Press Release - Jan 2026
Plymouth to bid for UK City of Culture, with £10 million in funding on offer for year-long cultural celebration of our city
Plymouth has announced its intention to bid for the title of UK City of Culture 2029, with £10 million of funding for a year-long celebration of arts and culture awarded to the winning city. This is an invitation to everyone to make life an adventure in Plymouth 2029 and join the celebration.