Street art festival coming to Chelmsford

The city centre will be transformed by a festival of street art later in May.

Concrete Canvas is set to bring incredible murals and artwork to Chelmsford using the city’s story as inspiration.

Later this week you’ll start to notice sites across Chelmsford’s city centre becoming the canvas for striking artworks. Expect to see creations pop up on a variety of locations, forming a diverse trail of street art.

Street art first for city

Chelmsford’s first ever street art festival has been commissioned by Chelmsford For You, the city’s Business Improvement District, in partnership with Chelmsford City Council and Ignite Chelmsford. The council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Marie Goldman, says Concrete Canvas is an opportunity to make new connections.

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“This festival will make Chelmsford a more vibrant place, giving us a chance to demonstrate that the city is serious about welcoming artists. I hope this partnership will bring people together to create something very exciting and start interesting conversations about what makes us unique.”

Cllr Marie Goldman, Deputy Leader, Chelmsford City Council

Inspired by Chelmsford’s story

Artists have been speaking to local community groups to discover what they love about Chelmsford. These descriptions, along with conversations relating to heritage, nature and local culture, will be used as inspiration for the artists’ creations.

The artists

Art collaboration The London Police, graffiti artist and illustrator Philth Blake, and professional mural artist DANK are just some of those with art on display. There’ll also be an opportunity to see the artists at work as they create Chelmsford’s newest installations.

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“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.”

Candy Joyce, artist and project manager of Concrete Canvas

How to get involved in street art activities

There are plenty of ways to get involved during the festival and it’s all free to attend.

• The Arthouse Project London will be hosting a paste-up wall in the project’s HQ on Saturday 14 May showcasing work from artists from all over the world.
• Concrete Canvas’ Digital Day on Saturday 21 May will see a digital graffiti wall erected in the Meadows. There’ll also be a virtual reality digital graffiti game in High Chelmer.
• Throughout 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.
• Finally, there’ll be a one-day event in Chelmsford’s Bond Street Bowl on Saturday 28 May. It’s also a free event and includes live graffiti, DJ and art fair. There will also be a public drawing wall, live dance and more. You can then explore the city’s new artworks using a festival map.

The latest

Find out the very latest at www.chelmsfordforyou.co.uk/concretecanvas and don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled in the city centre. You can also follow @chelmsfordforyou on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more announcements over the coming days.