Exhibitions

We've got a great range of exhibitions planned for 2013. Find out more here.

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Social History Season: May to September 2013

The Making of a Modern City

Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Abercrombie and Watson’s ‘Plan for Plymouth’ and get a unique insight into the reconstruction of the city following heavy bombing during World War II. We will be delving into the archive collections for this exhibition to reveal previously unseen documents, plans and images that record the people, politics and places that shaped the city we know today. This exhibition is being held to coincide with the first-ever Plymouth History Festival, which will run throughout May 2013.
27 April to 29 June 2013

Women in Art

See an impressive selection of work from our permanent art collections that portray or were created by women.
On display now

Stories from the Stores

See a store recreated in our gallery as we carry out the largest review of our social history collections we’ve ever done. On certain days you’ll be able to meet our curators and conservators. Come in and look at the objects we care for and get involved by adding stories, commenting on the collection and even helping to pack or conserve objects.
8 June to 24 August 2013

Nancy: The Life and Times of Lady Astor

Find out more about the life of Nancy Astor including her career as the first female MP and MP for Plymouth Sutton, a supporter of many causes and high profile acquaintances. Her roles as a wife and mother, friend and foe, politician and personality will be highlighted using images and objects from the city’s permanent collections. We also hope to include some loan items from a selection of national institutions.
13 July to 12 October 2013

Plymouth Porcelain: A New Collection

A commission by well-known ceramic artist, Clare Twomey inspired by our Plymouth Porcelain collection.
On display now

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Experience Art Season: October 2013 to January 2014

Artists Make Faces

Curated by Monika Kinley
In 1983, Monika Kinley and her partner Victor Musgrave invited their artist friends to lend works for a small show in their new London home. The show was called ‘Artists Make Faces’ and included work by Auerbach, Kossoff, Rego and Pacheco, as well as work by ‘Outsiders’. 30 years on, this exhibition is a realisation of a long held idea to create a show on this theme in a public gallery. It will feature a distinctive and personal selection of works from public art galleries and collections, including Arts Council England, Tate and the Whitworth. So many artists both past and present are concerned with the face. It gives us our identity and acts as a mirror for our feelings. In this show, the selected artists use it as a canvas, playing with it or agonising over it rather than creating a straightforward image of a recognisable person.
21 September to 7 December 2013

Hidden in Plain Sight

The term ‘abstract’ can mean many things – to remove, to summarise, to be difficult to understand, to be impersonal – all of which can apply to abstraction in art. It can refer to art that has an object or landscape as its subject or starting point, or it can use forms that have no source from the visible world. This exhibition will focus on abstraction from our collection, including work by Patrick Heron, Ian Davenport, and Justin Knowles. It will also include previously unseen footage of Patrick Heron in his studio from the late 1950s.
26 October 2013 to 15 January 2014

Please note - with exhibitions that are in development, details are subject to change. Confirmed information will be published as soon as it becomes available.

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If you are making a special trip to visit an exhibition or display we strongly advise that you telephone in advance to double check arrangements.

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