Programme

This year Design Season has asked the city’s designers and design networks to takeover 4 spaces across the city and create 4 pop up exhibition, workshop and demonstration spaces across the city. Supported by Leicester’s High Street Heritage Action Zone. We invite visitors and residents in to learn skills, view exhibits and experience demonstrations from some of the city’s creative design talent.

Design-Nation is the leading portfolio for designer-makers, artists and craftspeople based in the UK. A selection of makers from Design Nation’s Leicestershire Hub have come together to bring you an exciting pop up exhibition showcasing their latest creations.

The exhibition features pieces made using a variety of different materials and techniques including ceramics, felt making, metal work, weaving and paper sculpture. As part of the event the makers will be giving live talks and demonstrations, including felting, weaving and carving ceramics, giving a unique insight into how the wonderful works on display were created.

This pop-up exhibition/showcase is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm, and Sundays 10am-3pm, free entry, with demos on Tuesdays, Saturdays & Sundays during Design Season (see below)

Book your place at a Design Nation demonstration via the links below:

Designer Weaver – Sarah Johnson   Tuesdays 19 & 26 October 10am-4pm, free

Ceramics carving – Elle Maxwell of Speckled Grey Design demonstrates ceramic carving   Saturdays 23 & 30 October  10am-4pm, free

Felt Sculpture – Rachel Morley of Feltyrach demonstrates her practice of sculptural felt working   Sundays 24 & 31 October 10am-4pm, free

Window lettering in photo above : Lorna Dunn of @lesser_than_three

From Nupur Arts – Design and Heritage exhibition at Newarke Houses social history and regimental museum. Real stories from real people of how Gujaratis settled and made their home in Leicester – told through design – traditional costumes, old toys, traditional utensils, photographs, jewellery and textiles.

Newarke Houses is open Monday to Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 11am-4pm. Entry is free except on event days.

This exhibition finishes on 28 November 2021.

This year Design Season has asked the city’s designers and design networks to take over 4 spaces across the city and create 4 pop-up exhibition, workshop and demonstration spaces across the city. Supported by Leicester’s High Street Heritage Action Zone. We invite visitors and residents in to learn skills, view exhibits and experience demonstrations from some of the city’s creative design talent.

We invite you to pay a visit to the beautiful ISKCON centre on Granby Street (Monday to Friday noon to 5pm,) for two exhibitions created by new design talent, children and professional designers.

Little Inventors is an exhibition of 4 pieces of work created through collaboration between schools and professional designers. The Little Inventors film takes you through the project and process and as part of the season monster maker Tom Cleaver of Mr Cleavers Monsters will offer practical workshops which give you a flavour of his work in monster-making and puppetry.

Click the link below to book a puppet making workshop with Tom Cleaver on Wednesday 20th October 12-4pm or Saturday 23rd October 12-4pm, free.

The ISKCON centre is a Hindu temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

This year Design Season has asked the city’s designers and design networks to takeover 4 spaces across the city and create 4 pop up exhibition, workshop and demonstration spaces across the city. Supported by Leicester’s High Street Heritage Action Zone. We invite visitors and residents in to learn skills, view exhibits and experience demonstrations from some of the city’s creative design talent.

Maker Village provides you with an opportunity to come and visit a complete designer-maker takeover with displays, workshops, demonstrations and shopping! You can buy stuff.

Our close friends and colleagues the super dynamic Churchgate Studios, home to a bursting-at-the-seams maker and artist community, and notable local maker selling brand We Are will be in residence with their friends and doing things their way in our Maker Village. See on display the totally bewildering array of maker styles from jewellery to metal to enamelling to working in textiles to upcycling to….

This pop-up exhibition/showcase is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm (tbc), free entry, with workshops on Saturdays 23 & 30 October.

Sign up at Eventbrite links for workshops:

Kristen Rollinson : Silver Ring Making  Sat 23 October 11am-3pm, free

Christine Pearson : Jewellery Enamelling  Sat 23 October 3-5pm, free

Wood Layering & Marquetry Workshops with Mohamad Aaqib and Adam Khalifa, Saturdays 23 & 30 October, five 3-hour slots on each date between 9.30am to 2.30pm, free

Upcycling – is it design? Is it Art? Find out at our exhibition featuring work from local upcycling activist Kieran Walsh and De Montfort University School of Art, Design and Architecture and School of Fashion and Textiles at De Montfort University.

Funded by the DMU Sustainability Team, and in partnership with LCB Depot, this exhibition presents contributions by seven awardees in the ‘Upcycling Art, Craft and Design Competition’. The competition aimed to contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production, and targeted DMU students, alumni, staff and their families and friends, and community people.

The exhibition contributors (competition awardees) are: Tim Neath (Gold); Katarzyna Bigaj and Nicole Lander (Silver); and Christina Wigmore, Issy Staniaszek, Jenny McIlhatton and Millie Rees (Bronze).

Open Monday to Friday noon to 5pm, free.

The ISKCON centre is a Hindu temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

LCB Depot’s monthly street food night doubles as the closing party for Leicester Design Season on Friday 29th October!

Food, drink, music, comedy, art – and more, 5-10pm, £2 entry.

Talks by Clare Edwards, CEO of the The Hub – the national centre for craft and design in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, which holds England’s largest exhibition space for craft and design. Clare talks about issues and opportunities facing the maker economy today; and by Jo Cope, whose work spans design, conceptual craft and fashion. Since 2006 she has worked on a diverse range of commissions and exhibits which push the formal boundaries of fashion, questioning its evolving role within art and society.

Following the talks there will be a Q&A and a visit to the Design Nation installation pop-up at 14 Belvoir Street.

You can also watch this event online at LCB TV – link to come

Design Nation is the leading membership portfolio for contemporary designer-makers based in the UK who create craft, design and product.

A showcase of Leicester/shire designers, makers and architects. Work from Architecture, Graphic Design/Illustration, Product and Furniture Design, Interactive Design, and Craft. The exhibitions will be viewable at LCB Depot Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, and online via Instagram @lcbdepot