On the evening of Thursday 29 January, Attenborough Arts Centre launched ‘Materials Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ in Gallery 1 & 2 while celebrating ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ for the centre. The event was a great success, bringing together over 300 visitors to reflect on the past, enjoy the present, and imagine what the next 10 years might bring.

In partnership with Hayward Gallery Touring, ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ is an ambitious group exhibition exploring how artists are using textiles in surprising and radical ways. Illuminating the diverse roles textiles play in contemporary artistic practice, the exhibition brings together artists who take the intimate and domestic quality of textiles and transform them into theatrical, bold, unsettling and humorous artworks that inspire, challenge and offer new ways of thinking.

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. The familiar fabric of everyday life is reimagined into the unexpected—the ordinary made extraordinary—to reflect on ideas of gender, identity, community, race, technology, and myth, demonstrating the medium’s potential to transform in the hands of different artists. This exhibition is across Gallery 1 & 2.

The Salmon Gallery presents ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’, which reflects on Attenborough Arts Centre opening its new purpose-built galleries, creating a new home for contemporary art in Leicester in 2016. Since then, we have welcomed thousands of visitors and hosted a diverse programme of exhibitions by local, national and international artists. Over the past decade, these spaces have become more than galleries — they are places for conversation, community and connection.

To mark this special milestone, the exhibition looks 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. This exhibition will look back at highlights from the past 10 years while inviting you to share your own stories and reflections.

The evening was attended by our local communities, artists we have worked with, stakeholders in the community and arts and cultural professionals from across the county. DJ’d by Yumna Black, the event featured food and drinks, a chance to explore the exhibitions and participate in the interactive work, and cake baked by British Bake Off’s own Josh Smalley.

At the event speeches were given by Attenborough Arts Centre Director Andrew Fletcher, Board Member Meera Saujani, Patron Michael Attenborough, Director and Senior Curator of Hayward Gallery Touring Brian Cass, Visual Arts Officer Pamela Vivas, Visual Arts Assistant and Exhibition Researcher Rebecca Wymant, and Board Member Emeka Ejifor. The event was led by Leicester’s first Poet Laurate Shay Sharma who also introduced two videos, one looking back on the history of the galleries created by Digital Marketing Assistant Sunita Tailor, and a poem about the Centre’s mission of ‘Art for All’ by Emeka Ejior.

“We are delighted to be celebrating ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ all together this evening – it is a moment to say thank you to the many communities who have helped us make Attenborough Arts Centre what it is today. It goes without saying, that we celebrate the hundreds of thousands of visitors and participants we have engaged through ambitious exhibitions, participatory programmes and public dialogue, who have brought our programmes to life – without an audience, there is no art.” – Andrew Fletcher, Director of Attenborough Arts Centre

“We are particularly thrilled to be celebrating this significant milestone with the launch of a major touring exhibition, ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ with Hayward Gallery Touring – this show in itself is part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th Anniversary season. Collaborating with national partners is crucial for us to continue to deliver ambitious work and we look forward to building our relationship further with the Hayward Gallery in the years to come. Thank you to Brian Cass, Catriona Whiteford and their team for all their hard work and support.” – Meera Saujani, Attenborough Arts Centre Board Member

The evening also saw the launch of the new publication ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ by Rebecca Wymant. The book documents every exhibition that Attenborough Arts Centre has held in the last decade, exploring a range of incredible arts work and diverse topics explored. The publication is available for purchase at our front desk for £10 to own a piece of the centre’s history.

Thank you to all that came to celebrate! We cannot wait to see what the next 10 years will bring.

‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ is open from 30 January – May 4 in Galleries 1 & 2.

‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ is open from 30 January – May 4 in the Salmon Gallery.