An exhibition at The Box featuring 42 lighthouse sculptures designed and decorated by local schoolchildren as part of the Guiding Lights art trail.
Little Lights opens at The Box on 7 July, and it's an indoor trail of 42 lighthouse sculptures, each a metre high. Every single one was designed and decorated by pupils from 42 different education establishments across Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall, so there's a fair bit of the region represented in one room. It's part of The Box's Summer of Expression season, which is all about community creativity.
If the name sounds familiar, that's because it's an offshoot of Guiding Lights, the city-wide art trail from St Luke's Hospice Plymouth. That one puts 2.4m-tall lighthouse sculptures out on the streets and along the waterfront, while Little Lights brings the smaller, school-made versions inside. There's also a full-scale lighthouse sculpture outside on Tavistock Place to mark the spot.
Beyond the art, there's a specific point to the whole thing. The project uses educational resources to open up conversations about death and dying, with the aim of breaking down some of the traditional taboos that usually keep people quiet. It's a heavy topic, but the sculptures are the way in.
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The Box is Plymouth's museum, art gallery, and archive, and it was named the 2026 Art Fund Museum of the Year. Little Lights runs from 7 July to 13 September, and entry is free.
