Exhibitions

Attenborough Arts Centre is the largest contemporary art gallery in Leicester and one of the largest in the East Midlands. The gallery was funded by Arts Council England, University of Leicester and over one thousand public donations.

We curate four free-to-access gallery spaces hosting a wide range of art pieces from artists all around the world from across the spectrum of artistic disciplines.

The poster for Leicester Art Week, featuring yellow washed paintings on a purple background. At the bottom it says '11-20 November Art exhibitions and events across Leicester'.

Leicester Art Week

11 – 20 November 2022
Leicester Art Week is a festival of exhibitions and events with a visual art focusing that has been running since 2016. This year’s festival brings together over 50 events and exhibitions across the cities venues and studios featuring the work of hundreds of artists.

The week is organised by Leicester Visual Arts, a partnership between the city’s principal contemporary arts organisations, who working together aim to foster collaboration, develop audiences and support artists.

This year the core membership of Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester Gallery at De Montfort University, Leicester Print Workshop, Leicester Museum & Galleries, LCB Depot, Phoenix, Soft Touch and Two Queens, were joined by StudionAme and the Peepul Centre. Explore more about Leicester Art Week by clicking here.

Below experience our events and exhibitions – we can’t wait to celebrate Art Week with you!

Click here to see all the events
A white curtain pulled back to show the inside of a canvas, cream tent, with a white bed and wooden chair inside.

Letty McHugh: Anchorage

8 October 2022 – 8 January 2023, Gallery 2
Attenborough Arts Centre presents Letty McHugh’s, Anchorage. Her work aims to connect and bring solace to people experiencing isolation and chronic illness, with the centrepiece, ‘Anchorage’, a large textile installation referring to medieval anchorages at the centre of the exhibition.

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Letty McHugh is an artist who is interested in the lives, stories and experiences of people. McHugh’s work aims to connect and bring solace to people experiencing isolation and chronic illness. The centrepiece of this exhibition, ‘Anchorage,’ is a 4.5 x 3 meter textile installation referring to anchorages: spaces created for people during the medieval period who chose to isolate from secular society while providing opportunity for connection with others with similar values.

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Join artist Letty McHugh for a intimate talk to find out more about ‘Anchorage’, Letty’s solo exhibition at Attenborough Arts Centre. Wedneseday 16 November, 4:30pm, Free for all.
Book your place here
Mohammad Barrangi standing on a lader working on art work, on a free-standing piece of wood.

Mohammad Barrangi: Playing in Wonderland

29 October 2022 – 5 March 2023, Gallery 1
This autumn, Attenborough Arts Centre is delighted to present a major exhibition of new work by Mohammad Barrangi. ‘Playing in Wonderland’ will invite audiences to step into the artist’s imaginative world of fantastical characters and colourful scenery.

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The newly commissioned work presented here will build upon recent exhibitions at The Art House Wakefield and Edinburgh Printmakers, in which Mohammad has pushed his practice into larger scale works, installation and sculpture.
Mohammad Barrangi was born in Rasht, Iran, in 1988. Now based in the UK, he is both a globally recognized artist and a medal-winning athlete who has represented Iran internationally in the 100m sprint.
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A collection of images from news channels

Jas Singh: hippocratic / hyprocrite

11 February – 16 April 2023, Gallery 2
Jas Singh presents a new, inclusive digital arts installation that explores the mechanics of identity and the narratives that surround it, drawing on the artist’s own experiences as a disabled, British Asian artist.
Tony Heaton looking at the camera, in front of a marble sculpture he had made of abstract figures sitting together.

Tony Heaton: altered

25 March – 25 June 2023, Gallery 1
A major solo exhibition by British sculptor and disability rights activist, ‘altered’ produces intelligent and thought-provoking work that is a reflection of the artist’s own lived experience as a disabled person.
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Disability Arts Online Logo

Visual Artist Support Commissions: Attenborough Arts Centre & Disability Arts Online

Five disabled artists were given Support Commissions through 2021 by Disability Arts Online and Attenborough Arts Centre. The programme took place between February and July 2021 and offered each of the artists £1500 towards the creation of a new piece of work, plus group sessions, training and one-to-one development time with DAO and AAC staff.
Click here to view the artists work
Ashton Attzs

Trans Post Project

The Trans Post Project is back for 2022 and Attenborough Arts Centre invites you to sign up for a free postcard pack to connect creatively this Trans Day of Visibility. Click below to find out more about how you can get involved and the incredible artists involved in the project.
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Exhibition Archive

An archive of the exhibitions we have shown over the last 20 years.
Click here to view the archive