Festivals of art hit the High Streets with the return of the popular Brentwood Art Trail
Visit brentwoodarttrail.co.uk for more information and to reserve tickets for events, or brentwoodconnected.co.uk to read more about the Brentwood Connected Business Improvement District (BID).
This year’s Brentwood Art Trail from Brentwood Connected, the new Business Improvement District (BID) across Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone, takes place between 1 – 30 June. The long-running annual event will be bigger than ever with support from the Brentwood Connected BID, which is funded by Town Centre businesses to improve the visitor experience in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone. The event continues to be supported by Baker Labels, Blue Serif and Brentwood Borough Council.
Running for an entire month, Art Festivals will take place in each High Street, while the Trail will celebrate the work of 70 local artists by showcasing their art in pop-up galleries in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone. Throughout June, 60 businesses, including Bennetts Funerals, Hey Joe Music & Coffee, Jasmine Bleu, Kennadys, Sienna’s Restaurant, The Ginger Tree, Tees, Tom Howley Kitchens, Waterstones, Woodland Coffee Shop and all three branches of Beresfords, will take part. A Brentwood Art Trail Pop-Up Gallery will also be open at the Baytree Shopping Centre for the duration of the Trail, supported by Q-Mix Concrete.
Free Art Festivals will take place on the first three Saturdays of the Trail – bringing creative, fun, family-friendly events to the three High Streets. Starting on Saturday 1 June, a Guided Tour will take place in Brentwood to launch the Trail, followed by a Plein Air Art Experience at the Chapel Ruins, led by Amelia Hart and Lucia Hardy. This will be accompanied by a Portrait Painting Demonstration with Nancy Walker in the Pop-Up Gallery, Chalk Drawing in Crown Street, and a Scribble Board Art Jam with artist Mike Young, where visitors will be invited to make their mark on a collaborative piece of artwork which will travel between the High Streets during the Trail’s Saturday Art Festivals. Special events in Shenfield and Ingatestone include more Guided Tours, an exciting Live Street Art Event with urban artist Penfold at foureighty on Saturday 8 June, and a special Artisan Ingatestone Artists’ Market on Saturday 15 June.
Throughout the Trail, free Walk Talk & Create events take place, visiting locations like Butterfly Meadow, Merrymeade Country Park, Warley Place Nature Reserve and Weald Country Park. These give visitors the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor spaces in the borough, before creating some artwork under the tuition of an artist. This year’s Walk, Talk & Create events are sponsored by Create Yourself Calm and the Brentwood Arts Therapy Centre. There will be other artist-led workshops throughout the Trail, plus a special screening of ‘Midnight In Paris’ at Brentwood Theatre.
Follow @bwdarttrail on social media for updates before and during the event.
