Is toilet art festival Leicester's answer to the Loo-vre?

17 July 2021

Alex Regan and Nicola GilroyBBC News

News image — The works are on display in seven different locations, in a bid to make art more accessible to the public

Natasha James / Crosscut Media Cubicle Your Fears by Richard DeDomenici — The works are on display in seven different locations, in a bid to make art more accessible to the public

Seven toilets are to become the unusual setting for a new European-wide art festival.

The Leicester lavatories - all accessible to members of the public - are due to host the show called Accessible Art For All.

Leicester will be the first of five cities to host the exhibition, with others including Rome, Hamburg and Sofia.

Organisers said they hoped to "start a trend of artwork in toilets".

Natasha James / Crosscut Media Engage Behind Closed Doors by Yara El Sherbini — Some of the toilet artwork is as simple as changing the text on cubicle door locks

Natasha James / Crosscut Media Hand in Hand by Oliwia Bober — Oliwia Bober's work Hand in Hand is one of the exhibits

Artists due to exhibit in the unusual location include Richard DeDomenici, who has exhibited work at the Tate Gallery and the British Museum.

He said: "This is a great place to put art in because I think that art is at its most powerful when it's experienced non-art audiences."

Mr DeDomenici work's, called Cubicle Your Fears, is inspired by his previous work that featured in the Tate Modern and British Museum, where two strangers would go into a shed and talk about their fears.

Some of those fears now feature on the walls of a toilet cubicle.

He added: "We're inviting people to contribute their own fears. People can write their own fears on the wall and become part of the artwork.

"I'm hoping by sharing our fears we can, in some way, transcend them."

Natasha James / Crosscut Media Hands of Freedom by Vishal Joshi — Hands of Freedom by Vishal Joshi is also on display at Leicester Cathedral

Beth Piggott, from Artreach, an arts development organisation, said it was the weirdest exhibition she had ever organised.

"The reason we decided to put artwork in toilets is sometimes people find galleries challenging, whereas we know that [the toilet] is somewhere lots of people use, and it's an easy way of getting our art out to the public," she said.

"I've been blown away by the works. I really think we are going to start a trend of seeing more artwork in toilets from now on."

Natasha James / Crosscut Media Hands of Freedom by Vishal Joshi (Leicester Museum) — The works can also be caught at Leicester Museum

Other displays can be found at public toilets in Highcross Shopping Centre, LCB Depot, Manhattan 34, The Exchange, and Leicester Museum and Art Gallery.

They are part of a wider Liberty UK Festival, running in Leicester until 15 August.