Information on Loughborough

Banquet...hurrah!

Posted on 24/02/2010
University of Leicester

People will literally be able to feast their eyes on the new exhibition of art at Embrace Arts at the RA centre, University of Leicester, when ‘Banquet…Hurrah!’ opens on Saturday 20th March.

‘Banquet…Hurrah!’ is an exhibition devoted to all things edible and presented by Leicester’s Knighton Lane Artists’ Group (KLA). It celebrates feasting and food, exploring its forms, attributes and applications, and will showcase great new works in a range of media including oils, sculpture, and digital print.

Tom Cleaver, of KLA, explains: “It’s an unusual title for a show, I’ll grant you, but in an age where artists seem content to present the public with one-word titles and expect them to draw their own profound conclusions, we thought it more fun to slide in from the left-field with two randoms and some odd punctuation.

“It’s no meaningless moniker, either. It represents good food, celebration and the coming together of people. And, if you know the KLA, with our annual Tea Parties, the recent renovation of our studios and the swelling of our ranks with fresh, new talent, you’ll understand that these are all themes currently dear to us.”

Established in 1982, the KLA Group is an artist-run co-operative based in a Victorian school building on the outskirts of Leicester. Over the years the group has provided affordable studio space and vital support for many local artists. Members past and present exhibit their work throughout the East Midlands and are represented in galleries and collections nationally and internationally.

Louisa Milburn, Director of Embrace Arts, said: We are delighted to host this exciting exhibition by such an established local group as our first art exhibition under the new name of Embrace Arts at the RA centre.

“As the University of Leicester’s arts centre we are open to all, and we look forward to welcoming many people from Leicester and beyond to see what is a great range of work.”

‘Banquet…Hurrah!” will run from Saturday 20th March to Sunday 9th May 2010 at Embrace Arts, Richard Attenborough centre, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 7HA. It can be viewed between the hours of 10am and 6pm Monday to Friday and is free of charge. For weekend viewing times please call beforehand during the week on 0116 252 2455.

‘Banquet…Hurrah!’ is funded by Arts Council England and the building work at the KLA Studio was carried out with Lottery funding.

Pictured: 'Eggs' by Tom Cleaver