17 May Concrete Canvas, Chelmsford’s first ever street art festival, arrives this May!
Between Saturday 14 – Saturday 28 May, several sites across Chelmsford city centre are set to become the canvas for some incredible murals. Walls, bollards and OpenReach Street cabinets will become an exciting and diverse trail of street art with internationally renowned street artists and local artists lined-up to curate the artwork.
The project has been commissioned by Chelmsford For You – the city’s Business Improvement District (BID), in partnership with Chelmsford City Council and Ignite Chelmsford. Together, they’ve appointed talented local artist and arts organiser, Candy Joyce as Concrete Canvas’ project manager.
The theme for the project’s first year is Celebrating Chelmsford’s Narrative. Artists have been engaging with a variety of community groups to explore what they love about the city and what makes Chelmsford distinct. Subsequently, these inspirational conversations about local culture, heritage, industry, nature and more will inform and inspire the artists’ designs.
The team are thrilled to have acclaimed artists and original Chelmsfordians, The London Police, alongside a wealth of talent including Philth Blake, and DANK creating large murals. Being an open- air art display, the works are free for all to enjoy and during the festival, you’ll have the opportunity to see the incredible talent at work creating Chelmsford’s new art installation.
To find out the full line-up of artists, locations and installation dates, keep an eye on www.chelmsfordforyou.co.uk/concretecanvas and follow @chelmsfordforyou on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all announcements over the coming days. During the festival, you’ll be able to head to Concrete Canvas HQ in Unit 28 of The Meadows Shopping Centre to find out exactly what’s going on.
Candy says “It’s incredible to be inviting up-and-coming local artists to work alongside international superstars such as Dan Kitchener and The London Police. These are originally local artists who now receive worldwide recognition for their contribution to street art.”
Sara Tupper, Manager of Chelmsford For You says “By turning plain walls into areas of creative and colourful artwork, led by the community and reflecting what makes Chelmsford unique, we hope to foster a sense of respect and pride amongst the local community and give residents a sense of ownership of their city.”
The festival will offer a range of additional activities, with Arthouse Project London hosting a paste- up wall in the project’s HQ on Saturday 14 May, which will include work from artists from all over the world. Concrete Canvas’ Digital Day will run on Saturday 21 May, seeing a digital graffiti wall in the Meadows and a Virtual Reality digital graffiti game in High Chelmer – both FREE and not to be missed!
