Jyll Bradley: Life and Influences

Jyll Bradley: Life and Influences
The Box, Plymouth

When: 05 April 2025 to 02 November 2025
Where: The Box, Tavistock Place, Plymouth PL4 8AX
Time: 10am - 5pm
Cost: Admission free. No need to book.
Suitable for: Any age

How do family stories shape us, and how can archives help tell those stories?

When artist Jyll Bradley started planning her Running and Returning exhibition with The Box she had no idea she would find records about her family in the collections. Although brought up in rural Kent, Bradley's adoptive family have strong links with Plymouth and she spent many summers in the South West as a child.

This series of display cases in our Active Archives gallery combines archival records with personal items and memories, as Bradley explores how her childhood experiences have influenced her identity and practice, and provides insights into some of her ancestors, including her grandfather Leonard Turpin Nicholls (1893-1984), who lived in Plymouth and was a Fire Warden during World War II when the city was heavily bombed.

Open 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday and selected Bank Holidays.

Exhibitions & Projects

  • Journeys with Mai

    Journeys with Mai

    The Box, Plymouth

    14 February 2026 to 14 June 2026

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  • Documentary Photography Open 2026

    Documentary Photography Open 2026

    The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

    25 April 2026 to 20 June 2026

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  • The Art of Resurgence: Celebrating 60 Years of Resurgence

    The Art of Resurgence: Celebrating 60 Years of Resurgence

    The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

    23 May 2026 to 18 July 2026

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  • What We Keep: The Art of Collecting

    What We Keep: The Art of Collecting

    The Burton at Bideford

    11 May 2026 to 19 July 2026

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  • Colour

    Colour

    Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery

    23 May 2026 to 06 September 2026

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  • Sir Alfred Munnings: Exmoor Through the Seasons

    Sir Alfred Munnings: Exmoor Through the Seasons

    The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon

    04 July 2026 to 26 September 2026

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  • The Polish Navy in Devonport 1939 45

    The Polish Navy in Devonport 1939 45

    Devonport Naval Heritage Centre

    15 May 2026 to 28 October 2026

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  • Six Weeks To Go

    Six Weeks To Go

    Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum

    23 March 2026 to 30 October 2026

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  • Kingsbridge 1939   1945 : The Image and the Place

    Kingsbridge 1939 1945 : The Image and the Place

    Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum

    23 March 2026 to 30 October 2026

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  • William Cookworthy : A Man of No Common Clay

    William Cookworthy : A Man of No Common Clay

    Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum

    23 March 2026 to 30 October 2026

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  • History off the Hanger

    History off the Hanger

    Killerton House

    14 February 2026 to 01 November 2026

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  • Stored Secrets

    Stored Secrets

    Castle Drogo

    27 March 2026 to 01 November 2026

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  • 100 Years of Marilyn

    100 Years of Marilyn

    Bill Douglas Centre

    29 May 2026 to 20 November 2026

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  • Insects Uncovered: Biodiversity in Newton Abbot Exhibition

    Insects Uncovered: Biodiversity in Newton Abbot Exhibition

    Newton Abbot Museum

    17 March 2026 to 01 March 2027

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