Metal Southend

Metal Southend Championing artists, creatives & other curious people to follow hunches, explore dreams & probe problems. Part of Metal Culture UK

Chalkwell Hall📍

http://metalculture.com Founded by Jude Kelly in 2002 in London, Metal is an arts organisation based in Liverpool, Southend-on-Sea and Peterborough. We work in a supportive role with artists providing time and space for them to develop their practice.

Open Advice Sessions are back! Come along to one of our open advice and support sessions for artists with the Metal Sou...
13/04/2026

Open Advice Sessions are back!

Come along to one of our open advice and support sessions for artists with the Metal Southend team on Wednesday 29 April. These are free 1:1 sessions for artists who live and/or work within our local areas. They will be led by you and what you would like to discuss. Sessions may include:

👉 Talking through your creative practice
👉 Developing or sense-checking a project idea
👉 Advice or signposting to funding routes and opportunities
👉 Building relationships with organisations, voluntary groups, partners or venues
👉 Budget development or reading draft applications

We’re offering these sessions in person at Chalkwell Hall, as well as the option to discuss your work with us online. Each artist can book one session, and sessions last 1 hour.

Places are offered on a first come, first served basis (for those who live and/or work in our local area), so follow the link below for full details and to book your free place. We look forward to seeing you!

https://bit.ly/47ZJOaW

Image credit: Mark Massey

ID: A bright room with two mustard-yellow sofas facing each other and a small round table between them under a window. The Metal logo is on the right side with details of the Open Advice Sessions as in the caption.

Rainbow Roots are hosting their next in-garden to celebrate the jump into Spring as part of our Artist Ideas to Disrupt ...
25/03/2026

Rainbow Roots are hosting their next in-garden to celebrate the jump into Spring as part of our Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness. Join them on Sunday 29 March from 11am between 40 and 42 Dunster Avenue to grow something great together 🪴

In collaboration with St Mark's Church and Transpire, Rainbow Roots is hosting their next in-garden session. It's time for the clocks to "spring forward" and we are ready to Spring Into Action! Time to shake off winter and jump into the garden.

Open to all, no gardening experience needed – just bring yourself. There will be friendly faces, hot drinks, and good chats guaranteed.

To find out more about the event, check out the link here: https://bit.ly/4tcLsOF

The event is part of The Unlonely City programme which is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of the Arts Award.

ID: A flyer graphic created by Rainbow Roots for the event. On the flyer are various graphics of Pride rainbows and plants, with information about the event along with the times and location.

Our next Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness project comes from Gulsen: Southend-on-Imagination! Join lead resident Sab...
10/03/2026

Our next Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness project comes from Gulsen: Southend-on-Imagination!

Join lead resident Sabine Buhain and artist Gulsen on a guided walk around Westcliff on Saturday 14 March from 2pm. 🥾

When the infrastructure for care and connection is eroded, how does it affect our memory of a place and sense of belonging? And what happens when we come together to see places we might have never been to or might have passed by hundreds of times from a different lens and imagine their futures by sharing diverse experiences present in Southend?

Starting from Cardigan Avenue, you’ll explore a part of Southend from Sabine’s personal perspective, enriched with your reflections, contemplation and responses.

Feel free to bring phones, cameras and sound-recording devices to capture your reflections of the walk and any prompts shared by Sabine. We’ll provide the pens and paper.

After the walk, we might go for a hot drink and we’d love you to join us 🫖

Find out more and book a free spot: https://bit.ly/4cDfFBt

The event is part of The Unlonely City programme which is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of the Arts Award.

ID: A black and white photo by photographer Camilla Greenwell of someone leading a walk whilst wearing headphones, walking through the park. In the top left corner is Metal’s Unlonely City logo.

Photo credit: Camilla Greenwell

Exciting news! We’re shining a spotlight on Southend’s coastal stories as part of A Poet in Every Port - a national init...
04/03/2026

Exciting news! We’re shining a spotlight on Southend’s coastal stories as part of A Poet in Every Port - a national initiative celebrating the UK’s diverse dialects and languages, marking Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary. 🎉

We’re partnering with Southbank Centre as one of 11 coastal hosts welcoming the mobile National Poetry Library! On 27–28 June, Chalkwell Hall will come alive with poetry and creativity. Local artist and poet Maddi Crease, selected as part of the New Poets Collective, will be helping us celebrate local stories and showcasing how poetry is for everyone.

Join us for a weekend of activity for all ages to enjoy. Save the dates! 🌊

Find out more: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/create-learn/talent-artist-development/a-poet-in-every-port/

ID 1: Blue, orange, white and yellow colorful directional signs reading 'A Poet In Every Port', on a red and white striped pole. The text includes the dates of the event, and the Metal, Southbank Centre and Arts Council England logos are at the bottom.
ID 2: A light blue map of the UK highlighting major port cities with red location markers and one yellow marker in southeastern England.
ID 3: A photo of Maddi Crease smiling into the camera. Maddi is wearing a black top with a necklace and has shoulder-length curly dark and blond hair.

Introduing one of our Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness projects! CALL OUT: Artist Mark Massey is looking for people t...
23/02/2026

Introduing one of our Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness projects!

CALL OUT: Artist Mark Massey is looking for people to be involved in their new participatory community project ‘Southend Strangers’ 👥

By pairing strangers, Mark will bring together people from different generations and backgrounds to create shared photographic portraits celebrating connection, place and everyday life across Southend.

You can volunteer as an individual, but Mark is also keen on local organisations, charities, schools and community groups nominating or suggesting someone from their community.

You don’t need any photography experience. What matters is curiosity and openness to meet someone new and reflect on places that are meaningful to you.

The closing date is Sunday 15 March.

Find out more and take part here: https://bit.ly/3X55zzJ

This event is part of The Unlonely City programme which is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of the Arts Award.

ID: A photo by Mark Massey of the Estuary in low light with 2 people and their dog running on the bank. In the distance is a cargo ship under a dusty pink and blue sky. Overlaid on top is the title ‘Southend Strangers’ in light and dark organge, with the Unlonely City logo in the top left.

Dr Warren Harper is the new Director of Metal Southend ⭐ We’re so happy we can finally say out loud (though we know wor...
12/02/2026

Dr Warren Harper is the new Director of Metal Southend ⭐

We’re so happy we can finally say out loud (though we know word has already spread fast across Southend😉), and even happier to welcome Warren to the Metal team!

Before joining us, Warren had been working in Canada, most recently as Exhibition Manager at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto and lecturing in curatorial studies at the University of Toronto, and before relocating to Canada, Warren was Director at The Old Waterworks and a TOMA Board member. Hear more from Warren below:

“I am incredibly excited to be returning to Southend and joining the team at Metal. I am looking forward to continuing the work at the much-loved Chalkwell Hall, strengthening its role as a space for community and providing time and resources for artists to push the boundaries of their practices.”

Follow the link below to learn more and join us as we welcome Warren to Metal!

https://bit.ly/3ZWYiDR

Image credit: Nicole Njagi

ID: A photo of Warren wearing a white t-shirt over a black quilted shirt looking into the camera. The background is white and there is a leafy green plant on the right.

Our Metal Open Advice Sessions for creatives of all levels and art forms are back this February!️ As winter softens and...
10/02/2026

Our Metal Open Advice Sessions for creatives of all levels and art forms are back this February!️

As winter softens and the first signs of spring appear, we’re delighted to offer free 1:1 advice sessions for artists who live and/or work in our local area. A chance to reflect, reset and nurture new ideas as they begin to bloom.

On Wednesday 18 February we’re offering free 1:1 advice sessions led by you and whatever you’d like to discuss, which might include:

👉 Talking through your creative practice
👉 Developing or sense-checking a project idea
👉 Advice or signposting to funding routes and opportunities
👉 Building relationships with organisations, voluntary groups, partners or venues
👉 Budget development or reading draft applications

Sessions are available in person from Chalkwell Hall, or online if you prefer. Each artist can book one session, and sessions last 1 hour.

Places are offered on a first come, first served basis (for those who live and/or work in our local area), so follow the link below for full details and to book your free place. We look forward to seeing you!

https://bit.ly/4r4WDbj

ID: The image shows pink and purple flowers blooming. In the top left-hand corner, there is overlaid white text which says “Metal -Open Advice Sessions, Wednesday 18 February 2026, Chalkwell Hall, Southend.”

09/02/2026

💫 Commissioning opportunity for socially-engaged artists! 💫

We are seeking 5 socially engaged artists to work closely with coastal communities, helping turn local conversations about future challenges into meaningful artworks that inform research, policy, and public understanding.

This is a call-out for artists to take part in the ARISE Engagement Intervention, a research programme linked to Estuary Festival and funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI).

The project uses art and community engagement to help coastal communities better understand and respond to long-term challenges such as climate change, coastal erosion, inequality, and changing local economies.

What are we looking for?

🌊 5 artists or artist collectives
🌊 Artists should have experience in socially engaged, participatory, or community-based practice
🌊 Open to artists able to work in the selected coastal communities in South East and East England

What are the 5 commissions?

There are five separate commissions:
1. St Osyth, Essex
2. Eastchurch, Kent
3. Heacham, Norfolk
4. Bawdsey, Suffolk
5. One overarching artwork that connects ideas from all four locations

Each of the four location-based artists will work closely with the community in that location.

📅Apply by Sunday 8 March 2026, 11pm 📅

🔗 Please read the full artist brief and how to apply info, here: https://www.estuaryfestival.com/blog/detail/artist-call-out-arise-engagement.html

Image description: Heacham, Norfolk view out to sea at low tide with a bright blue sky. There are seagulls floating and two people walking in the far distance. There are groynes and two signs in the foreground, one says "No climbing on groynes", the other "Caution underwater structure". Photo by ARISE team

We’re launching three new creative commissions to disrupt loneliness in unique and interesting ways in Southend. Create...
04/02/2026

We’re launching three new creative commissions to disrupt loneliness in unique and interesting ways in Southend.

Created by artists, each project features ideas that will bring moments of laughter and connection, in ways which are incidental and that might go on to be long-lasting. These three projects were chosen by a citizen-led panel of Southend residents, letting local people do the creative decision making.

In Southend, we’re working with artists Mark Massey, Gulsen and Maddy McMurray. More on the projects disrupting loneliness near you:

💥 Mark will be leading Southend Strangers, a participatory photography project that pairs people from different generations and backgrounds to create portraits of connection.

💥 Gulsen will bring groups of Southend residents with a recent personal immigration history together with those who have been living in the area for more than 15 years, through resident-led walks and creative sessions.

💥 Maddy will be working on Rainbow Roots, a community gardening project in partnership with Southend Pride, Transpire Southend, and HARP Southend.

👉 Keep a look out for opportunities to get involved with each project and learn more about each artist here: https://bit.ly/4bZ6aMq

Artist Ideas to Disrupt Loneliness is part of The Unlonely City, a programme taking place at Metal’s other sites as well. The Unlonely City is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation as part of the Arts Award.

ID: A bright orange graphic with bold black block capitals reading ‘ARTIST IDEAS TO DISRUPT LONELINESS.’ A white line runs horizontally through the middle, ending in swirling loops on the right. The Unlonely City logo is in the top left corner, and the Metal logo is in the bottom right.

Address

Chalkwell Hall
Southend-on-Sea
SS08NB

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+441702470700

Website

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