Watch speeches for Attenborough Arts gallery opening in full
You can now watch the full speeches from the opening of Attenborough Arts’ new galleries wing, given by the centre Director Michaela Butter, President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle and Sir David Attenborough.
Sir David officially opened the new £1.5million fully-inclusive gallery wing of the Attenborough Arts Centre on Friday 29 January.
Michaela Butter said: “This is a fantastic moment for us. Five years in the making and really it’s only happened because of the generosity of local people in providing us with the funds to make this happen.”
In Professor Boyle’s speech, he highlighted the long-standing support that our University has given to the arts as part of its corporate social responsibility:
“Universities across the country are taking an increasingly active role in cultural development, working closely with their Local Authorities and other partners. Far from being ivory tower institutions we are actively engaging in the cultural lives of the cities in which we are based and the University of Leicester is proud to be at the forefront of this commitment.”
Sir David Attenborough reflected on his family's association with University College Leicester during his speech:
“For this opening, however, I did look up the history of this University and found an article that my father had written in the local paper. In the course of asking for support he said this:
A University should be an institution that cares not only about commercial success but about those things of the mind and spirit which are the distinctive marks of an educated and cultured people.
“My brother Richard could have written those words – so could I if I had that kind of eloquence. So for me this is an emotional moment opening another building with the Attenborough name. Thank you very much for allowing me to come and do so."
Watch the speeches in full: