Bali Love Jenkins

The moment you walk into Bali Love Jenkins, you're confronted with colour - walls dripping in vibrant paintings, sculptures crammed into corners, the whole space absolutely heaving with art. It's the kind of gallery that rewards proper looking rather than a quick shuffle through.

The work here pulls heavily from Balinese influence and contemporary styles, which makes for an interesting visual tug-of-war if you're not expecting it. Some pieces are genuinely striking; others feel like they're trying a bit too hard. That's the thing about artist-run spaces - there's no filter, which can be refreshing or exhausting depending on your mood.

It's maybe an hour's visit, longer if you're genuinely into visual art and want to chat with whoever's about. Leicester's close enough that you could easily swing past on your way through the city, or combine it with a stint at one of the local parks like Village Farm Getaway just outside town. The East Midlands has surprisingly solid contemporary art scattered about if you know where to look, and this fits that bill.

Worth knowing: contact them before you go to check current opening hours, as smaller galleries can be a bit fluid with their schedule. Free or paid entry depends on what they're showing. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea - if you're after traditional landscape paintings or sculpture, you'll be disappointed. But if you like art that's unpolished and slightly raw, it's worth the detour from Leicester.