Spring is for celebrating culture and creativity with Attenborough Arts Centre. Join in to experience the latest performances from across the country, get creative with artists-led courses and workshops, explore themes of disability activism and joy in the galleries and engage with a range of free events designed to celebrate individual and community creativity.
A highlight of the spring season includes our ongoing participation in Leicester Comedy Festival, one of the largest comedy festivals in Europe. From the 7 – 25 February we will be hosting 23 incredible acts ranging from laugh-out-loud comedy such as Bronwyn Sweeney: Off Brand by Mick Perrin Worldwide Brand, intriguing discussions about the comedy sector from Beyond A Joke, and shows for all the family including Kids Know Best by The Lovely Boys.
Throughout the rest of the season featured performances include Attic Theatre and James Rowland’s Piece of Work on the 1 March, a show about fathers, sons and the hope that makes life liveable. Local women-led punk band Unglamourous are returning 10 March with Punk Mums, as they celebrate and remember the bands founder, Ruth Miller, through a loud, proud and funny as hell performance of their own songs. Meanwhile, Frozen Light presents The Bar at the Edge of Time on the 22 and 23 March, a multi-sensory spectacular for audiences with profound and multiple learning disability (PMLD).
With a number of performances offered on a Pay What You Can pricing scale, Attenborough Arts Centre remains committed to ensuring access to the arts for all.
An exciting range of artist-led Creative Courses and Workshop are available including Adventures in Creative Writing, 23 January – 12 March, with local poet, spoken word artist and multiple poetry slam winner Cathi Rae. Try your hand at something difference with the Silver and Copper Rings one-day workshop, 3 February, alongside professional jeweller Kate Bajic to introduce you to traditional hand working skills with metal. Get inspired by nature with Visualising Birdsong, 10 March, with renowned local artist Lucy Stevenson to explore a range of mark-making techniques to produce a vibrant piece of work. Meanwhile, in the February half-term, Attenborough Arts Centre presents Creative Workshops just for families including Paint like a Pro, Macrame Feather Hangers, Printmaking, Modern Punch Needle and Cyanotypes for Beginners.
Gallery 1 continues the exhibition Arcadia for All? Rethinking Landscape Painting Now from The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery and by University of Leeds until 26 January. From 23 February – 19 May, Traces by Seed & Dreams will open, exploring disabled joy through creative mark-making and lived experiences from four contemporary artists alongside giant wheelchair prints from local children.
In Gallery 2 the Next Gen Creatives respond to ‘Arcadia for All?’ with their own Project Arcadia. The exhibition will explore multiple mediums as the group works through every stage of the exhibition including planning, production, curatorial, marketing, and creating the responses themselves. From 8 March – 26 May, Unlocking The World will be exhibited in Gallery 2 as part of the award winning SENsory Atelier programme. The exhibition shares journeys into learning through art by and with young people attending SEND schools.
The venue will also bring back its popular Attenborough Late in celebration of International Women’s Day. The late-night takeover will feature live performances and creative activities throughout the whole centre, alongside food drink and dancing on 8 March. More information to be revealed soon.
Alongside Exhibitions, Performances and Creative Courses, Attenborough Arts Centre also runs a range of free events to engage local communities including Family Gallery Workshops each Saturday during exhibitions, free Sunday Sessions in the café with creative activities from 12pm – 4pm, Soundbites Lunchtime Concerts every Tuesday and Creative Wednesdays for University of Leicester Students at the Student Union.
With such a range of events on offer, there is sure to be something for everyone this spring – explore it all here.