Southend visitors and residents delighted at City Jam

The High Street and seafront were packed on Friday morning as the three-day event kicked off, with residents filling the area to get a glimpse of artists from across the work working on more than 100 of pieces of art. 

The result saw the city full of a dizzying explosion of colour throughout the weekend. 

A Work in progress at City Jam festival (Image: George Pizani)

Street art isn’t the only type of art that flourishes at City Jam, with many photographers also keen to get in on the creativity. Jess Hawkins and Michael Stoves were busy taking photos of some of the most eye-catching works of art.

Michael Stoves and Jess Hawkins from Southend (Image: George Pizani)

“I hang around with quite a lot of the local artists and I’d welcome any kind of art events in Southend really.” said Jess.

For Southend resident, Andrea Harding, discovering the event on Friday was a happy accident.

Artists work for three days at City Jam (Image: George Pizani)

“We didn’t know it was on, but now we’re here we’re going to come back on Sunday to see the finished works.” she said.

Andrea pointed to the fact that City Jam offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the artworks are created as a reason for her interest, saying: “It’s something different. You see these things on the wall, but you don’t actually get to see it being done”.Martin and Jane Byott from Chelmsford (Image: George Pizani)

It’s not just Southend residents who turned out to soak up the City Jam atmosphere. Jane and Martin Byott had travelled from Chelmsford to experience the festival. The pair recently attended Chelmsford’s Street art festival and have come to City Jam events in the past.

“We’re from Chelmsford and we have a similar thing annually up there. It does very well here and there.” said Jane.

“It’s a good draw, you’ve got international artists from places like Mexico, Spain and all over. It’s brilliant.