The Show Must Go On: Gallery Route One’s Box Show Is Back For Its 21st Year

If you look at a plain wooden box and don’t see a blank canvas, that’s about to change. A San Francisco Bay Area tradition, THE BOX SHOW™ is an annual showcase of the inventive and ingenious ways transcendent works of art can emerge from the simple starting point of a simple wooden box.

In 1999, Gallery Route One gave wooden boxes to local artists to create anything they wished. Twenty-one years later, THE BOX SHOW™ is more popular than ever, annually drawing thousands of people to this major gallery event in the rural West Marin town of Point Reyes Station.

For THE BOX SHOW™, Gallery Route One distributes 150 identically sized wooden boxes to 150 artists and aspiring community members, all eager to interpret their art within this unique three-dimensional canvas. Two months later, an incredibly diverse exhibit of artwork occupies the gallery for six weeks. Silent bidding for the boxes occurs throughout the show using the “givi” app, and culminates in a dynamic live auction on Sept. 12 at 3 p.m.

As always, THE BOX SHOW™ will be installed in the gallery, but due to COVID-19, the opening reception will be modified according to current health protocols. In place of a conventional opening, a live-streamed video tour of the exhibition will be available on Saturday, Aug. 1, starting at 3 p.m. Please visit the www.galleryrouteone.org for full details.

THE BOX SHOW™ is not only a remarkable opportunity for artists to flex their creativity in their chosen medium and beyond; it is also a fundraiser for Gallery Route One’s outreach programs: the Latino Photography Project, the Artists in Schools, as well as exhibitions in the Project Space addressing environmental, immigration and social justice issues.

Which box will be your favorite? Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram!

Key Dates

On View: July 31 – Sept. 12, 2020

Online Auction and In-Person Viewing by Appointment

  • In-person viewing by appointment begins August 14. Book an online viewing appointment at www.galleryrouteone.org.
  • Join in the fun and participate in the online auction. Register on Qgiv and you will be directed to download “givi” to your phone to view and bid on the boxes.
  • You may also bid on a plain box to create your own box art for next year’s show.

Saturday, Sept. 12, at 3 –5 p.m.
Final Live Auction*

*Subject to change per COVID-19 safety regulations, please check the gallery’s website for updates.

For more information on in-person viewing appointments, recorded weekly docent tours, and other video content please visit www.galleryrouteone.org.