In the new year we will be celebrating a decade of our gallery spaces, which is an incredible milestone for the centre and our communities. Although our original building launched in 1997, we were only able to realise a long-held ambition to construct a purpose-built gallery space much later on. To celebrate we will be hosting an event on Thursday 29 January 2026, but first let’s look back on how it all come to be.
Founded by Lord Richard Attenborough as a purpose-built arts centre, Attenborough Arts Centre has always offered a range of accessible programming and creative courses but lacked a dedicated space for contemporary visual arts. Funded by an Arts Council England £1.5 million capital project, the University of Leicester, and over 1,000 public donations from our communities, we were able to significantly expand the building with three gallery spaces and an external garden. This expansion positioned Attenborough Arts Centre as the largest contemporary art gallery in Leicestershire and one of the largest in the East Midlands.
The galleries were designed by GSS Architecture, with great considerations for increasing accessibility by utilising step-free entries, adaptable lighting, and flexible layouts to accommodate diverse audiences and art forms. The galleries were formally opened on 29 January 2016 by Sir David Attenborough, who gave an incredible speech stressing the importance of arts and culture for all. Watch a video below about the construction of our galleries 10 years ago!
In 2022 what was formally our Gallery 3 space became the Salmon Gallery, a dedicated sensory-friendly space featuring acoustic baffles, ambient lighting and accessible interactive art areas. The Salmon Gallery is now frequently used by a range of visitors, and hosts community sessions and creative workshops.
Over the past decade the galleries have hosted over 60 exhibitions from more than 300 artists. The visual arts programme has helped to grow the cultural landscape of Leicester by creating platforms for art that is radical, reflective and inclusive, as to reflect our own commitment to ‘Art for All’.
To mark this special milestone we are looking back on both the programme, and also the memories and experiences of all those who have engaged with the range of artists and art we have presented and produced. A curated exhibition in our Salmon Gallery titled ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ will look back at highlights from the past 10 years while inviting you to share your own stories and reflections.
The milestone will also be celebrated with the launch of ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ in Gallery 1 and 2 from Hayward Gallery Touring. Featuring work created predominantly over the last decade by 15 UK-based artists, ‘Material Worlds’ highlights their deep awareness of textiles’ cultural history and a shared desire to challenge its traditional associations, testing the material’s expansive and subversive potential.
Join us Thursday 29 January 2026, 5pm – 8pm. This event is free for all with booking required, and food and drinks will be available throughout the night. We cannot wait to see what the next decade will bring!