Devonport 200

An exhibition that marks the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of Devonport.

During those 200 years, the community has experienced profound change; moving from a hugely prosperous, independent town to become part of the City of Plymouth; experiencing devastation following extensive bombing in World War II; and major transformation through regeneration of the last two decades.

Devonport 200 marks the moment, exploring multiple and diverse histories, recognising the many achievements, celebrating local communities, and looking forward to future opportunities and challenges.

The Box holds over 20,000 objects related to Devonport. Displayed across multiple spaces at The Box, our contribution to Devonport 200 explores some of the complex history of the place.

In Active Archives, Celebrate Devonport explores stories connected to Devonport that have made a positive difference in people’s lives. It features highlights from our archives, art and social history collections, including early objects relating to the change of name from Plymouth Dock to Devonport, explorations of the life and work of Bill Miller, and celebrated locations.

In the Bridge Gallery, TRACES explores everyday ‘moments’ or snapshots of experiences in the collection which are often the only record of an activity taking place. Most daily experiences in Devonport have no record, but can we (or should we) collect ‘everything’? In this sense, archives are never ‘complete’, but still act as a form of collective memory.

In Media Lab, the film Future Archaeology – The Devonport Collection: An Incomplete Archive by Naresh Kaushal and Jamie Harper explores Devonport from the perspective of those who know it, using participatory storytelling to invite audiences into a creative dialogue about their past and present experiences of the city.

This work has been funded by Arts Council England, Plymouth City Council and The Box, Plymouth.

Find out more about the Devonport 200 programme.