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World-class creative talent nurtured at a Leicester art school in the swinging 60s are celebrated in a brand-new exhibition in the city.  

Dozens of globally renowned artists, actors, designers, photographers and musicians who studied at Leicester College of Art during the 1960s are featured in The Art School Dance Goes on Forever exhibition which opens to the public on Friday, 7 February at the Leicester Adult Education Centre on Belvoir Street. Admission is free.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Steve Chibnall, Professor of British Cinema at СʪÃÃÊÓƵ (СʪÃÃÊÓƵ) Leicester, which is now home to the highly respected art school.

Prof Chibnall, whose last 2023 exhibition about the Profumo Affair was named The Guardian newspaper’s Exhibition of the Week, described his new Art School Dance project as “a labour of love”.

Professor Chibnall said: “Leicester College of Art was a real hothouse of creative talent in the 1960s and was one of the very best art schools in the country. It produced a generation of creative people who went on to become highly influential around the world. And yet it seems that this is something Leicester has forgotten, or at least never really fully acknowledged.  

“There are some really remarkable individuals in the exhibition who cut their creative teeth in Leicester and went on to make real and lasting contributions to modern culture across so many difference fields.”

One section of the exhibition is dedicated to The Farinas, the Leicester College of Art house band from 1961 to 63, whose members went on form the famous and highly influential rock band, Family.

A total of 30 art-world luminaries are featured in the exhibition, including.

• Kasia Charko, former leading illustrator for revered fashion label, Biba. Studied Art, Graphic Design and Illustration at Leicester College of Art (LCA) 1968-71
• Kevin Robert Woodcock cartoonist for Private Eye and others. Studied at LCA 1961-64
• Tony Kaye, founding member and keyboardist of legendary prog rock band Yes. At LCA c1962-64
• Liz Tilbersis, fashion journalist who succeeded Anna Wintour as editor of British Vogue and went on to edit Harper’s Bazaar in the USA. Studied at LCA but was expelled “for having a man in her room.”
• Hilary Radley, international fashion designer. Fashion and Textiles. At LCA 1967-69
• Graham Baker Hollywood director, whose films include Omen 3 (1981), Alien Nation (1988), Beowulf (1998). At LCA in the late 1950s
• Charles Dance, actor, screenwriter, and film director. Studied Graphic Design and Photography, c1964-67
• David Hall, sculptor and became video art pioneer. Studied Fine Art, c1959 -1962
• Roger Ford, Oscar-nominated film production designer. Studied Art, c1962-65
• Caroline Broadhead renowned artist and jewellery designer. Studied Art Foundation, 1968-69
• Patricia Roberts, award-winning knitwear designer with shops in London and New York. Fashion and textiles, 1963-67
• Hilary Radley, a.k.a. The Queen of Coats. Studied Fashion and Textiles, 1967-69

The Art School Dance Goes on Forever is at Leicester Adult Education Centre, Belvoir Street, from February 7 to March 14. Opening times are 8.30am - 8.30pm Monday to Thursday, and 8.30am - 4.30pm on Fridays; closed on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free. For more information go to