Celebrate culture and creativity with Attenborough Arts Centre this spring

The season will begin with a significant event on Thursday 29 January, celebrating 10 years of the organisation’s three art galleries that launched in 2026. In the Salmon Gallery there will be A Decade of Exhibitions, an archive show looking back at how the new building has enabled an ambitious and high-quality artistic programme, presenting the work of over 300 artists. Across Gallery 1 & 2 the organisation will present Material Worlds: Contemporary Artists and Textiles, an ambitious group exhibition exploring how 15 leading contemporary artists are using textiles in surprising and radical ways. The exhibition is curated by Caroline Achaintre with Hayward Gallery Touring. The evening event will provide drinks, food and illuminating company that reflect on the past 10 years while imagining what the next decade may bring.

This spring the venue has a variety of exciting upcoming performances such as Please Do Not Touch by Casey Bailey, a show that follows the story of Mason, an activist who explores historic houses on TikTok to uncover the true stories behind the objects that lie within. After an incident with a Somali Afro comb, he is wrongly imprisoned in a Young Offender Institution. Can he find a way to survive this ordeal and navigate how to keep speaking up when everything is designed to silence him? This show is a production by A China Plate, Belgrade Theatre and Birmingham Hippodrome, taking place Thursday 5 March. 

Meanwhile, Paula Varjack returns to the centre on Friday 13 March with her new show Nine Sixteenths which invites you on a journey through three acts, exploring themes of representation and pop culture with a nostalgia for the early 00’s, along with the hopes and dreams of four black female performers, all through a visual variety of devised theatre, dance and lip sync.

A highlight of the season will be the return of Leicester Comedy Festival, one of the largest comedy festivals in Europe of which Attenborough Arts Centre is a proud host venue. From the 4 – 22 February the centre will host a diverse range of acts including laugh-out-loud comedy from Edy Hurst’s Dream Park, live comedy games with technology from WiFi Wars, and shows for the whole family including Magic Gareth’s BALOONATIC and Make It Up As You Go! Mayhem by Tej & Tulsi Dhutia.

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 Workshops will be delivered by our experienced tutors this season, including a range of Life Drawing Classes for beginners and advanced artists to hone their skills with artist Scott Bridgwood, who spent 10 years teaching art in Rome, Italy. Or try your hand at something different with Silver Jewellery Making, a one-day workshop to create unique wax carved rings. Meanwhile, you can get inspired by movement and take part in an Introduction to Indian Dance with Chandni Premgi, as you explore four different types of dance in one day.

Each weekend the centre also hosts for a range of events tailored by our team to make getting creative and experiencing new opportunities easier than ever. Whether you want to try something hands-on in the Saturday Gallery Art Clubs, connect more with local organisations and artists at their Community Sunday Sessions, or a joining in for one of their Art Gallery Tours to discuss the latest exhibitions and gain alternative insights into the artwork.

Each Saturday and Sunday our Attenborough Café will also be open, offering a new range of hot food including fresh baguettes, toasted sandwiches, salads, breakfast including pancakes, smashed avocado and poached eggs, as well as an ever-changing range of freshly-baked cakes. All are served alongside a range of hot or cold drinks by our wonderful café team.

With such a range of events on offer, there is sure to be something for everyone this spring at Attenborough Arts Centre.

Visit the Attenborough Arts Centre website for more details.