Leigh-on-sea Art Trail kicks off with free St Clement's Church Concert

July 1, 2025

An exciting collaboration between artists, acoustic music acts and a choir of 30 voices will launch this year’s Leigh-on-sea Art Trail on Thursday July 3rd , whetting the appetite for another week-long showcase of the town’s creative talent.

Organisers are putting on a “celebration of creativity and community” with artists painting live around St Clement’s Church during the concert arranged by singer-songwriter Mick Nixon, and also featuring Chris Robson, New Again, S Reeson and Among the Nightingales.

Female choir Sound of the Hunderground – who promise “pop bangers from Beyoncé to Kylie” - will round off the night and all are welcome to attend the free event, which gets underway at 7pm.

Sound of the Hunderground founder member Rachel Morgan, whose poetry will feature on the Trail in partnership with her father Trevor’s abstract photographs of Two Tree Island, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be headlining the launch of the Art Trail and hope that we inspire some huns in the audience to join our choir!”

The concert is followed by the start of the Art Trail proper in some 50 venues across Leigh. More than 60 artists - including eight exhibiting on the Trail for the first time - will fill shops, cafes and churches with their work as the town buzzes with pop-up galleries.

And a host of events on the first weekend of the Art Trail (July 5th and 6th) will give plenty of opportunities for visitors to get involved.

New to the Trail this year at Snappy Snaps on Leigh Road is ‘Your Art Here’ - a live art- making experience where everyone is invited to spin the tombola drum to learn their creative fate! Guided by prompts and instruction, visitors will make artwork to be framed in- store and displayed in an ever-growing, live exhibition showing throughout the week. It’s free to take part and the same applies to the Graffiti & Chalk Art Festival running in the back playground of Saint Pierre school, also on Saturday July 5th .

The Art Trail’s Jadie Oberholzer said: “Everyone is welcome to join us for live sessions with the incredibly talented Graffiti writer Grub, who will bring the children’s artwork to life in his demo. Meanwhile, artists and volunteers from Southend High School will be hosting the Chalk Fest, where kids – and adults! - are invited to get creative with colour and let their imagination run wild.” It all starts at midday on July 5th and wraps up at 3pm.

While visitors are at Saint Pierre, they won’t want to miss the Art Trail’s huge exhibition of primary school children’s work on Saturday July 5th and Sunday July 6th. “The title this year is ‘Showcase’,” added Mrs Oberholzer. “Pupils from local primary schools were invited to create artwork in a medium of their choice and now you can see the spectacular results. Hundreds of artworks will be on display, ready to brighten up your weekend.”

Over at Leigh Road Baptist Church, the winners of the Art Trail’s Secondary Schools’ Competition will be decided by public vote. There are prizes up for grabs, so make sure to see the exhibition on July 5th-6th and pick your favourite in each age category. Also on the Trail’s opening weekend, Havens Hospices return to the Living Room on Leigh Road with what promises to be another emotional exhibition following 2024’s show ‘Grief Through a Child’s Eyes’.

This year’s title is ‘Do You See Me?’ and will showcase artwork by children and young people supported by the charity. It explores their experiences of living and caring for someone they love who has an incurable condition, or the impact of having a complex condition themselves.

Finally on the opening weekend, oil painter Paul Alcock, whose work will be on display at Milly’s Deli throughout the Trail, is running a free outdoor event in the Old Town entitled ‘Painting Leigh En Plein Air’.

Meet by the anchor opposite the Crooked Billet at 11am on Sunday July 6th – bringing your own painting and sketching equipment if you have it – and enjoy creating art alongside a heat winner of Sky’s Landscape Artist of the Year.

Plenty more opportunities to meet and make art alongside Trail artists will be available as the week progresses and the organisers are urging people to keep an eye on the ‘What’s On’ section of their website (leigharttrail.com) for more details.

The FREE concert to launch the 2025 Leigh Art Trail is at St Clement’s Church on Thursday July 3rd at 7pm. All welcome.

Leigh Art Trail runs from Saturday July 5th until Sunday July 13th in venues across the town. For more information and up-to-date event timings, go to leigharttrail.com and follow the Leigh Art Trail on Instagram and Facebook.