Exhibition Launch: ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ and ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’
Join us to launch our upcoming exhibitions ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ and ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’.
In 2016, Attenborough Arts Centre opened its new purpose-built galleries, creating a new home for contemporary art in Leicester. 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, we are looking 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. A curated exhibition in our Salmon Gallery titled ‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ will look back at highlights from the past 10 years while inviting you to share your own stories and reflections.
The milestone will also be celebrated with the launch of ‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ in Gallery 1 and 2 from Hayward Gallery Touring. 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.
Our gallery spaces have become a space for building communities, through diverse explorations of different cultures and political issues within various exhibitions. Whether you discovered a favourite artist here or simply paused for a quiet moment of inspiration, your experiences are part of our history. Together, we’ll reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and imagine what the next 10 years might bring.
‘A Decade of Exhibitions’ will be exhibited in the Salmon Gallery from 30 January – 3 May 2026.
‘Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles’ will be exhibited in Gallery 1 and 2 from 30 January – 3 May 2026.
All our galleries are free entry and open 7 days a week, weekdays 12pm – 5pm and weekends 12pm – 4pm.
The exhibitions are supported using public funding by Arts Council England. We are grateful to the Arts Council for their continued support of Attenborough Arts Centre as a National Portfolio Organisation.
Food and drinks will be available throughout the night. Free for all with booking required.
Left Image: A Decade of Exhibitions at Attenborough Arts Centre. / Right Image: Phyllida Barlow, untitled: canvasracks; 2018-2019. Concrete, cotton-duck canvas, hardboard, paint, plastic, plywood, steel, tape, timber. Dimensions variable. Installation view, ‘Phyllida Barlow. cul-de-sac’, Royal Academy of Arts. London, UK, February 23 – June 23, 2019. © Phyllida Barlow Estate. Courtesy the Estate of Phyllida Barlow and Hauser & Wirth. Collection of Action 4 Equality Scotland. Photo: Damian Griffiths.
