Students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are to get more opportunities to immerse themselves in the arts thanks to a groundbreaking partnership with Arts Council England (ACE).
The university has become the first higher education partner of ACE, which supports the arts, museums and libraries around the country.
This week, DMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard and ACE chief executive Darren Henley signed a new deal which Mr Henley described as “trailblazing”.
Students will have more opportunities to get involved in the arts and enjoy new cultural experiences while DMU will work with ACE, artists and arts organisations to improve the quality and quantity of arts and culture across Leicester and Leicestershire.
Prof Shellard said: "This new partnership recognises the significant impact that art and culture bring not only to De Montfort University but to Leicester as a whole.
“From its beginnings as the Leicester School of Art in 1870, DMU has been at the forefront of arts education, using creativity to transform lives and communities and nurture the creative economy in the city of Leicester.
"We are proud of the many DMU students, graduates and staff who are part of Leicester’s vibrant artistic networks and of our partnerships with high-quality arts organisations across the city and county.”
Between 2015 and 2018, Arts Council England will invest £1.1billion of Government and Lottery funding to help create art and culture experiences.
Studies have shown how young people whose education includes art - whether film, theatre, playing or seeing music, creative writing or dance - consistently perform better in literacy, mathematics and languages as well as “soft skills” such as self-reliance and communication.
Mr Henley said: “Universities are full of people who want to make their cities really great places to live and work. One of the things I’m most excited about is the sense of vision and ambition about the city and DMU.
“Having great creative people around you and great creativity in your life makes your life better.
Mr Henley said: “It certainly feels that the city's cultural organisations and DMU are in their own ways achieving just as much as LCFC have done on the football pitch. Leicester is clearly THE place to be right now and we are delighted to have signed our partnership with you.”
Posted on Friday 20 May 2016