Farleigh Hospice brings a buzz to the city

Chelmsford’s first sculpture art trail has arrived in the city!

Local charity, Farleigh Hospice, has brought 30 giant bee sculptures and seven mini bee swarms to Chelmsford as part of a brand-new city centre art trail. Buzz in the City is now open for residents and visitors to enjoy until Tuesday 9 September.

The trail is free to explore with the Buzz in the City app, which can be downloaded via the App Store and Google Play. There’s also the option to buy a trail map for £2 from Farleigh Hospice’s special Buzz in the City pop-up shop, located at their Full Circle store on Chelmsford High Street.

Project supported by local community

Buzz in the City has been a major community-wide initiative. As you explore the trail, you’ll discover that each giant bee has been uniquely designed by talented artists, including local Chelmsford creatives and artists from as far away as Bristol. While the mini bee swarms have been decorated by local schools and community groups, including students at Newland Spring Primary and Nursery School.

Varied designs of bee can be found along the Buzz in the City trail route.

Local charity Farleigh Hospice has worked with Making Trails and Chelmsford For You to create the art trail, with support from Chelmsford City Council, and headline sponsors Teledyne E2V and Fisher Jones Greenwood. The project aims to raise much-needed funds for Farleigh Hospice, which provides care and support to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement across mid Essex.

Launch weekend of family activities

Buzz in the City launched on Saturday 5 July with a celebratory family day of activities in the city centre. The day featured live performances from local majorettes group, Silver Gems, and live music from Farleigh Community Choir and local school choirs. Chelmsford Beekeepers were also on site to support the opening, sharing their knowledge of how to care for bees and their importance to our ecosystems.

The Mayor of Chelmsford, Councillor Jannetta Sosin, officially opened the trail by unveiling the first bee on the route, located outside Farleigh Hospice’s Full Circle shop on the high street.

Complete the full trail or set off on mini routes

The full Buzz in the City trail is 10 km long. It starts on Chelmsford High Street, travelling up Moulsham Street to the Museum of Chelmsford, then back towards the city centre, through Central Park and out to Anglia Ruskin University before finishing at Half Moon Square. For those who don’t wish to complete the full trail in one go, there’s also the option to complete three mini trails. Each trail can be discovered via a free to download Buzz in the City app.

The free to download Buzz in the City app will help you navigate the sculpture trail.

Trail bees include one at St John’s Church on Moulsham Street, designed by local artist Joe Stevens, and another at Chelmsford War Memorial on Duke Street, designed by Neil Fendell. You’ll also find a mini bee swarm at Chelmsford Library, which features illustrated mini bees designed by different schools and community groups, and is inspired by this year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme of wildflowers and gardens.

Chelmsford City Council’s sponsored bee can be found in Oaklands Park, close to the Museum of Chelmsford. The bee has been designed by Chelmsford artist Diana Mayo, who’s artwork ‘Chelmsford City 2012’ is already on display in the museum’s current temporary exhibition, Shifting Perspectives: Exploring Art Together (running until 2 November).

Cllr Natacha Dudley, Cabinet Member for an Active Chelmsford, says:

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“Buzz in the City has positively transformed Chelmsford city centre into an outdoor art gallery, which showcases the incredible talents of artists from Chelmsford and across the wider UK. The city council is proud to support this wonderful new initiative from Farleigh Hospice, which is both encouraging people to get outdoors and explore their local city on foot, while also raising much-needed awareness and funds to aid Essex families dealing with life-limiting conditions, terminal illness and bereavement.”

Cllr Natacha Dudley, Cabinet Member for an Active Chelmsford, Chelmsford City Council

Trail explorers can collect Rewards via an app

As you explore Buzz in the City, you’ll discover that each giant bee along the route has been sponsored by a local business, with the opportunity to collect a reward. Simply enter the code on each bee sculpture into the Buzz in the City App to see the rewards and enter prize draws.

The city council’s bee rewards include a year’s joint museum membership, a family ice skating voucher and bee-themed museum merchandise. Other rewards along the trail include downloadable honey-based recipes and children’s activities, and prize draws for tickets to Colchester Zoo, Essex Cricket, the annual Santa Fun Run, and The Comedy Club.

Raising funds for Farleigh Hospice

In additional to trail maps, a temporary Buzz in the City shop on Chelmsford High Street also features plenty of bee-themed items to purchase as a souvenir of the trail, from pencils and keyrings to doormats and vases. You can also enter the shop raffle to be in with the chance to win your very own decorated bee, especially painted by an artist in the Meadows collective.

Buzz in the City ends on Tuesday 9 September but there’ll be one final chance to view the bees at a special farewell weekend from 13-14 September in the grounds of Farleigh Hospice. The following week, on Wednesday 17 September, each giant bee will be sold in an auction at Channels Estate.

All funds raised through the pop-up shop and auction will go to Farleigh Hospice, helping them to continue providing critical hospice care and support to families in mid Essex impacted by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement.

Pauline Harvey-Jones from Farleigh Hospice says:

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“We are so excited to be bringing Buzz in the City to Chelmsford! We have been working with our artists and sponsors to ensure that the city’s first ever art sculpture trail is fun, accessible and educational.

“At any one time, our dedicated team of doctors, nurses, counsellors and therapists are caring for over 500 patients and the number of people needing our care is increasing.

“As a charity, all of our care is provided completely free of charge and this is only possible thanks to the kind support of our local community who fund our care through donations, gifts in wills and fundraising events like the Buzz in the City art trail. If you enjoy the art trail please do consider donating or even bidding for one of the beautiful giant bees in the auction! Contact arttrail@farleighhospice.org to register for the auction.”

Pauline Harvey-Jones, Farleigh Hospice

Volunteer your support

If you’re keen to support Buzz in the City, Farleigh Hospice welcomes help from the community. Throughout the trail, there’ll be opportunities to volunteer in the popup shop, selling merchandise to raise money. Or you can sign up to become a trail ‘beekeeper’ and help watch over the sculptures on the trail. Email arttrail@farleighhospice.org to enquire about volunteering.