festivals,events and flagships
Leicester hosts vibrant festivals and events year-round. We’re proud to support diverse cultural celebrations, including Spark Festival, Bring the Paint, Riverside and many more.
festivalsand events
Using creativity and art as a vehicle, we aim to engage, empower, and enrich the lives of children and young people, especially those facing disadvantage and challenges. Festivals and events allow us to connect with more communities and be an active part of the Leicester (shire) arts and cultural scene, building on existing partnerships while expanding our reach.
We’ve continued our successful partnership with The Spark Arts for Children, delivering graffiti and DJ & turntablism workshops at Leicester’s annual children’s arts festival, the Spark Festival. This city-wide event, aimed at children and young people aged 0-13 years, is just one example of our involvement in local celebrations like Bring the Paint, Riverside Festival, Leicester Mela, and Clarendon Christmas Park Fair.
flagshipprojects
Our flagship projects showcase our work regionally and nationally, collaborating with diverse partners delivering innovative, creative initiatives that foster enduring social and personal benefits for individuals and communities.
FLAGSHIP PROJECT
BACK TO BOOKS
Back to Books was an eight‑month creative programme funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and delivered in partnership with Leicester Libraries. Designed to inspire young people to reconnect with reading and discover the joy of storytelling. Guided by the 2026 Summer Reading Challenge theme Read to the Beat, the project brought together music, art, digital media and creative writing to help young people explore books in fresh and exciting ways.
The project responds to the city’s low average reading age and the national decline in reading for pleasure by encouraging young people to see themselves as readers, writers and artists in ways that feel relevant, creative and accessible.
FLAGSHIP PROJECT
Tell Tall Tales
This isn’t your typical heritage project, Tell Tall Tales brings myths and superstitions to life in collaboration with Historic England, LeicesterShire Music, Phoenix Leicester and other partners. Young participants worked with professional researchers to develop skills for the heritage sector, which was the foundation for the project. The project culminates in an exhibition at Leicester Stories Gallery and a film screening at Phoenix Leicester celebrating all of the heritage re-imagined for a new audience.
FLAGSHIP PROJECT
GrimE Opera
Grime Opera pushed boundaries by blending grime music written by local artists with the timeless elegance of a 65-piece youth orchestra performing classical music. This event celebrated the diversity of artistic expression, engaging audiences from all walks of life and uniting them through the power of music and performance. It demonstrated the transformative power of art, leaving a lasting impact on the community and opening doors to greater appreciation and understanding.