Leicestershire Society of Botanical Illustrators holding debut exhibition inside Hinckley’s Atkins Building – and you can see it for yourself now

Mason Moore | Hinckley Reporter | 13 April 2023

HINCKLEY’S Atkins Building, based on Bond Street, is pleased to welcome the debut exhibition for the Leicestershire Society of Botanical Illustrators.

**The Fabulous Flowers and Fruits exhibition** (Image: Atkins Building)

The exhibition, named Fabulous Flowers and Fruits, first opened to members of the public today (Thursday, 13 April), and is available to view until Friday, 28 April.

The Leicestershire Society of Botanical Illustrators (LSBI) is one of the oldest botanical illustrator societies in the country.

It was founded 36 years ago by Anne Marie Evans MBE, who was a lecturer at Leicester College, and has an international reputation amongst botanical artists.

The group currently have a membership of 30 – including many who meet up regularly at the University of Leicester Botanic Gardens each Wednesday to draw and paint in watercolour on hot pressed paper or vellum. The members aim to produce artworks of a high degree of botanical accuracy, with these pieces being exhibited.

A LSBI spokesperson said: ”We are very pleased and excited to be holding our first exhibition since the pandemic and displaying at the Atkins Gallery in Hinckley”.

Individual members of the LSBI have had work accepted into the permanent archives at Kew Gardens, the Chelsea Physic Garden, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Lindley Library, the Natural History Museum, King Charles’ Highgrove and Transylvanian Florilegiums, the Hunt Institute for Botanical Illustration in Pittsburgh, America as well as many other private collections in the UK and abroad.

The LSBI have also exhibited and won medals at the Royal Horticultural Society in London.

Rebecca Wilbur, Principal Officer, Atkins Gallery said: “With the spring flowers starting to appear, it is the perfect time to have an art exhibition focused on the beauty of flora and fauna.

“We urge you to visit the Fabulous Flowers and Fruits exhibition by this very talented group and enjoy a coffee from the on-site Hansom Café.”

The Atkins Gallery is open Monday to Friday each week, from 9am to 5pm and Hansom Café is open 9am to 3pm.

Those looking for further details on the exhibition can call Atkins directly on 01455 255694, email info@atkinsbuilding.co.uk, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.