Explore artists’ studios and visit flagship galleries: discover art in open-houses and unconventional spaces: encounter pop-up performances or explore your own creativity at an artist-led workshop: Yes, this year’s E17 Art Trail is back.

Now in its tenth year, organisers are promising that the event will be an even bigger and bolder arts affair, spread over 16 action-packed days. Featuring work by more than 4,000 professional, emerging and amateur artists in 170 venues, ranging from local residents’ houses to the walls of local shops, hanging from trees, estate agents’ windows, galleries, gardens, pavements and pubs.

The first E17 Art Trail in its new summer slot, this year’s theme is 'inhabit' and considers not just where participants live, but their lifestyles too.

Here are some of the highlights which focus on local aspects:
 

W.E.: The Ex-Warner Project

W.E.: The Ex-Warner Project by Lucy Harrison and Katherine Green is a survey of Warner Estate housing, looking at how the design of this distinctive 19th century terraced housing affects daily lives. www.exwarnerproject.co.uk

The E17 Bus of Buildings (BoB)

The E17 Bus of Buildings (BoB) by architectsE17 and RIBA features a Routemaster, which takes to the streets for an entertaining, inspiring insight into the surrounding buildings.

 

Do You Really Know Where You Are?

Artist Corinne Price is drawn towards the point of tension between the natural world and the constructed environment. This 60 minute audio tour of Epping Forest is guaranteed to take visitors on a mind-bending journey.

Against an impressive backdrop of urban growth and redevelopment, with local flagship, The William Morris Gallery, Art Fund Prize Museum of the Year 2013, E17 Art Trail is undoubtedly amongst Europe's largest open-access, visual arts festivals.

From its early ambitious beginnings in 2005, the E17 Art Trail is proud to lay claim to being at the heart of a renewed, widely-shared appreciation of the vitality of Walthamstow and its highly creative East London community.

The award-nominated volunteer programme (Waltham Forest Love Your Borough Awards 2014) has grown and includes an invitation to local residents to become a Festival Ambassador. Online applications are currently being accepted for this and other volunteer roles at: www.artillery.org.uk.


And finally...on the first Saturday of the Art Trail, local photographer Nicola Tree’s inventive 'The Visitors' project invites E17 Art Trail visitors to drop into her pop-up studio at Bygga Bo Cafe and Gallery for a free, lightening portrait photo-shoot. All those photographed will be encouraged to tweet their portrait with 140 characters on their favourite E17 Art Trail experience.

To help new and older-hands alike navigate E17, for the first time the Art Trail has been divided into eight mini-trails, each reflecting the character of their neighbourhood.

Full details of the mini-trails and a local area map of venues will be presented in the trail guide and online at www.e17arttrail.co.uk.