Attenborough Arts Centre’s new season launch is their largest yet! The programme features a range of thought-provoking exhibitions, performances, and artist-led creative courses and workshops, together delivering on the organisation’s mission of ‘Art For All’.
The programme is free to browse now on our what’s on with a range of events from September 2026 to March 2027, and will launch for sale on Monday 3 August 2026.
Earlier this year Attenborough Arts Centre was awarded £899k from the Creative Foundations Fund to be spent on their building to improve accessibility. The work will include a new Changing Places facility for disabled users and a range of upgrades informed by users to optimise visitor experience, environmental sustainability and new opportunities across the Centre. The work will begin in November 2026, finishing in Spring 2027.
Due to the upcoming Capital Bid works, the newest season will cover from Autumn to Spring to ensure a structured approach to the upcoming building changes. Attenborough Arts Centre will remain open to their communities throughout, offering a range of exhibitions, performances, creative courses, learning opportunities and more. Sections of the building will be closed to the public for periods of time while the work takes place. Attenborough Arts Centre will re-open before the 30th anniversary of the centre’s opening by Lord Richard Attenborough and Princess Diana.
In the Autumn a new exhibition from Leicester-based artists will launch in Gallery 2. From 9 October 2026 to 14 March 2027, acclaimed portrait artist Jemisha Maadhavji shows I Dream From Where You Are. The exhibition brings together painting and sculpture, as the work explores portraiture and identity, reflecting upon the artist’s concept of luxury as a deep connection to nature. Based in Leicester and of Indian heritage, Maadhavji draws on the vibrancy of her diverse neighbourhood. Sari shops, hand-embroidered and block-printed textiles, and Indian confectioners act as a reference point for the vivid colour and intricate patterns in her work. Previously her work was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2022, and in 2023, she created a portrait of NHS junior doctor, Grace Spence Green, for the BBC series Extraordinary Portraits.
The season brings a range of artist-led creative courses and workshops, taking place in the studios and main hall until November and then moving into Gallery 1 during the building works. This includes Digital Art: A Beginners Workshop for iPad and Procreate in a Gallery Setting, where participants can learn the basics of creating digitally with help from Leicester artist Rosie Johnson. Explore the world of music with Jazz Performance, led by tutor Richard Everitt, to gain confidence in improvisation and performing in a jazz group. Later in the season, take part in a Kinusaiga Workshop with local crafter Bonita Keay, to learn a Japanese textile art that resembles stained glass designs. In the winter months, Attenborough Arts Centre will be hosting a range of festive workshops that are perfect for creating unique gifts and decorations for the season including Festive Fused Glass Decorations, Mosaic Robins and Wreath Making Workshops.
Attenborough Arts Centre remains committed to Art for All by offering various courses and workshops at different price points, with concessions for different communities to ensure greater access within the programme. By working with local artists as tutors, the centre also supports Leicester’s ever-growing community of creatives to further their own craft while imparting their knowledge base.
This autumn the venue has a variety of exciting upcoming performances such as Lucy Porter’s Let Yourself Go! A festival favourite and mainstay of TV panel shows, Porter returns with a new show about the power of letting yourself go in this hilarious show, 26 September. On Friday 16 October, the takeover event Attenborough Late takes place so expect an evening of contemporary art, live performances, DJs, food and plenty of opportunities to get involved. Meanwhile, One Tenth Human will present So Unfair! an interactive science demo that needs you to take on some big challenges and help them save the day, 24 October.
Even after all of the Creative Courses, Exhibitions and Performances, Attenborough Arts Centre still has more to make art for all, with the ever-popular Craft & Art Fair, 31 October, that enables visitors to meet and support over 50 makers and artists across the region who will be selling a wide range of art and crafts.
Each weekend the centre hosts for a range of events tailored by our team to make getting creative and experiencing new opportunities easier than ever. Whether you want to try something hands-on in the Saturday Gallery Art Clubs or connect more with local organisations and artists at their Sunday Sessions.
With such a range of events on offer, there is sure to be something for everyone this season at Attenborough Arts Centre.
Visit the Attenborough Arts Centre website for more details.