Grayson Perry guest of honour at Centenary Alumni Celebration

Contemporary artist, writer and broadcaster Grayson Perry CBE will share his insight with Leicester alumni at a special event in celebration of the University’s Centenary this May.

The internationally-celebrated visual artist and Turner Prize winner, who is also a patron of the University of Leicester’s Attenborough Arts Centre, will serve as guest speaker at the Centenary Alumni Celebration on Thursday 12 May.

The annual alumni dinner will this year celebrate the University’s Centenary and offers graduates the opportunity to celebrate the last 100 years, as well as looking ahead to the University’s second Century, all while reminiscing with friends – old and new.

Held in the renovated Percy Gee Building, formally opened in December, guests will also have the chance to experience some of the latest changes to the University’s campus.

Nominations are also open for The Future Leader Award, The Alumna/Alumnus of the Year Award, and The Dr Mark Sims Memorial Award for Public Service, all of which will be presented on the night among several other awards.

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester, said: “Welcoming Leicester alumni back to campus for any celebration is a privilege, but our Alumni Celebration is given extra importance in 2022.

“Not only will it offer us the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on our Centenary year, but as the first annual Alumni Dinner we have been able to host in-person since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are truly very excited to welcome more of our University community back to Leicester.

“To have such a fascinating guest speaker in the form of Grayson Perry – a friend of the University through his patronage of the Attenborough Arts Centre – is a true pleasure.”

Grayson Perry is an award-winning visual artist and was the first transvestite potter to scoop the Turner Prize in 2003. Having trained in sculpture he went on to learn ceramics in night classes, and his work is now collected and represented in many museums and galleries around the world.

He serves as a patron of the Attenborough Arts Centre alongside Michael Attenborough CBE, Yinka Shonibare CBE, Dame Evelyn Glennie, and Baron Lowe of Dalston CBE.

This event is now sold out. If you have any questions about the Centenary Alumni Celebration, please email the Alumni Team.