Arts and culture

Our commitment to enrich and add value to the cultural vitality of the region is reflected by our myriad artistic and cultural activities.  

Public lectures are held at the University and at venues across the city, and we stage music events, drama, theatre and concerts. We have also run dedicated public events on special themes and topics - for example Refugee Week, the 50th anniversary of Joe Orton's death, RAG week, Varsity and much more. We have hosted sculpture exhibitions in the botanic garden, and for a decade our festival of the written word, Literary Leicester, attracted thousands of people.

Attenborough Arts Centre

Attenborough Arts Centre is our accessible and inclusive arts centre, with a lively programme offering performances, courses and workshops, contemporary art exhibitions, activities for children and families, and more. It plays host to the largest contemporary art gallery in Leicester, and we are proud to champion emerging talent and disability-led artists.

University of Leicester Botanic Garden and Attenborough Arboretum

Our Botanic Garden comprises sixteen acres of lovingly-cultivated grounds and greenhouses, displaying a wide variety of features and environments, and the five-acre Arboretum displays our native trees in the sequence in which they arrived in this country after the last ice age. Both the Garden and the Arboretum focus on global biodiversity, allowing thousands of schoolchildren and visitors to see and learn about the wide range of plants that grow in our extensive collections from around the world.