25 years ago today we were founded – and that’s only the beginning of the story.
Established by Richard Attenborough, a lifelong champion of arts and social justice who campaigned to make culture accessible to everyone, the centre was opened with Diana, Princess of Wales, on 27 May 1997 to found Attenborough Arts Centre as a institution for breaking down barriers to the arts. A quarter-of-a-century on, we continue Lord Attenborough’s mission, recognising the many prevailing systemic inequalities which prevent access to culture for so many people as we strive to open opportunities to creativity for the most underrepresented people in society.
It has been an incredible journey as we have worked hard to fulfil the mission set upon us, including expanding our gallery spaces to be on of the largest contemporary art spaces in the East Midlands, working with incredible artists across the UK and beyond such as Lucy Jones, Mik Godley and Yambe Tam, and working with with our local communities to provide access to all areas of art. We thank everyone who has been a part of the past 25 years and we cannot wait to see what the next 25 bring.
To celebrate, we will be hosting a years worth of events to reflect on our many successes and achievements over the years, while looking ahead to a bright future guided by Lord Attenborough’s founding vision. This includes a small get-together we hosted today for our Attenborough community to thank them for all they have contributed to our centre over 25 years. We were joined my the University of Leicester President and Vice-Chancellor Nishan Canagarajah who gave an incredible speech alongside our Director Andrew Fletcher.
Get involved today by exploring our 25th anniversary page to learn more about our history and join us some of our upcoming events, such as An Evening with Michael Attenborough.
We cannot wait to see how we evolve and grow over the coming years and we thank you all for being a part of it.