Current Students and Staff

Loughborough University’s Art Festival is back for a second year with a diverse and exciting programme of events taking place from 5-13 June.

The Festival is a celebration of the creative arts here at Loughborough, and gives people the opportunity to find out more about the activities taking place on the University campus.  

It will be showcasing student projects, running artistic workshops, hosting a full-day symposium and holding informative talks with academics, alumni and special guests.‌

It follows on from a successful first year of the Arts Festival in 2018.

Most of the events are free to attend and are open to staff, students and members of the public.

Nick Slater, Director of LU Arts, commented: “I am really excited by the variety of activity on offer this year, celebrating the broad arts offer at the University. 

“The festival offers audiences the opportunity to participate in art workshops, engage with some of the fascinating research undertaken at the University and view the high-quality work presented by students in the degree shows and end of year theatre productions. We look forward to welcoming you to the events.”

A full programme can be viewed below:

Wednesday 5 June

12:30pm-2pm: Creative writing workshop – Be inspired by nature in this hands-on workshop, led by Dr Sophie-Louise Hyde.

6pm-8pm: Care Notes – Examine issues around ‘care’ with a screening of social artist Ian Nesbitt’s film about the provision of care on campus. The film includes site-specific interviews with staff and students whose roles involve a form of caring; some of whom will be part of a discussion on the night.

7:30pm: Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinocéros* - Join our final-year Drama students for their last theatre production as their time at Loughborough draws to a close. Also performing on Thursday 6 June and Friday 7 June.

Thursday 6 June

12pm-2pm: Digital Storytelling: Climate Change – See the end-result of our Digital storytelling project, where members of the community will produce a short film focusing on how we can address climate change.

Friday 7 June

12:30pm-1:30pm: Phillip Lindley: Formal gardens - Discover the histories of lost formal gardens with Professor of Art History Phillip Lindley, focusing on Boughton House, Northamptonshire.

Saturday 8 June

7pm: Wrestling Resurgence: Angry Dancing* - Experience the thrills, spills and spectacular skills of incredible performance art when arthouse wrestling comes to Loughborough!

Sunday 9 June

2pm-4pm: Printmaking workshop (16+) – Learn how to screen print in this hands-on workshop with artist Sumiko Eadon.

Tuesday 11 June

12:30pm-1.30pm: What Hope Utopia? - Join utopian researchers Siân Adiseshiah and David Bell to discuss what hope there is for utopianism in a world that is increasingly dystopian.

Wednesday 12 June

12pm-3pm: Wearables and Sound workshop – Explore smart textiles with Ricardo O’Nascimento and make a wearable clothing/ textile item that is sound or movement responsive.

6pm-8pm: The Decadent Literary Salon – Immerse yourself in the famous decadent literary salon of the fin de siècle; expect poetry readings and artworks from this period, dramatised excerpts from Oscar Wilde and craft your own decadence-inspired creations… and absinthe 1890s style!

Thursday 13 June

10.30am-4.30pm: Art Education: Interesting histories and alternative futures* - Sign up to our one-day symposium celebrating interesting histories of art education and considering how they can be re-imagined for the future. This event will bring together academic presentations with practitioners and case studies.

7pm: Drama students’ performance* - Enjoy a preview of works being taken to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival by Loughborough University Drama students. They will perform abridged versions of two famous plays: Chekhov’s The Seagull and Romeo and Juliet: A Capulet Soirée.

Wrestling Resurgence

Throughout the event, the University’s Arts Degree Show will be running. This is an inspiring and diverse array of work made by final-year students studying Fine Art, Graphic Communication and Illustration and Textiles and will be taking place from 8-16 June in the Edward Barnsley Building.

There will also be the work of five experienced artists who have undertaken placements within Fine Art at the University this year at a separate exhibition, AA2A. This will run throughout the entirety of the Arts Festival.

AA2A exhibition

For more information about the Arts Festival and to book tickets, visit the dedicated website here. For further queries please contact LU Arts by calling 01509 222948 or emailing luarts@lboro.ac.uk.

*These events will be charged