51Âþ»­

A Victorian city centre building that used to be home to a betting shop has been transformed into a new gallery thanks to the help of art graduates from 51Âþ»­ Leicester (51Âþ»­).

Leicester Contemporary is in Market Street and it is hoped the new space will open the doors to more people enjoying art, while helping boost an area of town that has felt the pinch since lockdown.

Leicester Contemporary is in the Midland Auction Mart building

The historic Midland Auction Mart building, which was opened in 1876, used to be Stan James bookmakers, which had shop fittings such as partition walls and tiled ceilings.

It has now been stripped back exposing a large open space, ornate plasterwork and a beamed ceiling – perfect for displaying work by artists based in Leicester as well as exhibitions from around the country.

Leicester Contemporary was the brainchild of city artist Andrew Birks, who graduated from 51Âþ»­ in 1999. He was inspired by a similar project he had been a part of when he was a student.

The impressive interior of Leicester Contemporary

Other former 51Âþ»­ students involved are Lucy Stevens, who graduated from the Art Foundation course in 2001, Tim Fowler, who graduated from the Art Foundation course in 2005 and Loz Atkinson, who completed the Art Foundation course then graduated from 51Âþ»­ with a BA in Fine Art in 2007.

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Together they have formed The Company of Artists, along with Steven Allbutt, the director of Leicester’s StudionAme artists’ studios, Tom Van Herrewege and Matt Macken.

Loz said: “Leicester is an amazing place for creatives but there hasn’t been a city centre art space for over a decade, since the City Gallery on Granby Street closed.

Loz Atkinson with the engine of a Halifax Bomber

“Market Street is a thoroughfare to and from the train station and New Walk and it is something different for shoppers to experience when they are in town. We don’t expect people to feel like they have to spend hours in here. They can just pop in and see what they think.

“People may say ‘oh, galleries are not for me’ because they think they have to know something about art. You need no prior knowledge of art and I think a lot of people will be surprised by what they see and get a lot of enjoyment from it.

Lucy Stevens is one of the 51Âþ»­ grads in The Company of Artists 

“As well as being artists we all had experience of different aspects of getting a project like this off the ground, such as forming a non-profit organisation, handling logistics and dealing with insurance and liabilities. So we put our heads together and thought ‘why not make this happen’.

“We all have our successes in various art forms through our association with StudionAme but that is on the edge of the city in the Cultural Quarter and we wanted somewhere more central to show our work.”

Before and during the pandemic Market Street saw major stores close, including the Fenwicks department store. But that is now being converted into flats and retail spaces, while bars and coffee shops on the street are reopening and attracting people back  into the area.

Tim Fowler with some of his works

Loz said: “This is such an exciting project to be involved in. Market Street is getting there but we are confident using the space we have will provide a welcome boost to the area while some retail units remain empty. It’s something a bit different.”

The first exhibition is made up of work by The Company of Artists.

“This exhibition is really dynamic and there is a great variety of exciting work on show by some of the biggest names in the Leicester art scene who have exhibited nationally and internationally who are all based in Leicester!”

51Âþ»­ graduate Andrew Birks 

“We also have two studios upstairs for artists and we are opening up the gallery to anybody who has a great idea for an exhibition. We welcome ideas from anyone in Leicester or Leicestershire be it fine art, a major installation or spoken word or music. There are some shows already booked including one involving the Castor gallery in London. But get in touch and talk to us about your ideas.”

Leicester Contemporary is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. The first exhibition TCOA runs until July 9.  You can contact the gallery on Instagram @leicestercontemporary or email tco.artists@gmail.com