Artists from across the UK and beyond are bringing a feast of visual pop culture to the streets of Birmingham's Southside district from October 31 to November 3.
Local businesses will be giving up their walls, windows and frontages for four days of paintings and art installations as part of the Eye Candy Festival.
The festival will offer a weekend of arts, film, workshops, talks and other activities - and it's all free.
Visitors to the event will be able to buy affordable art at a Bicycle Basket Bazaar and watch films inside a lovingly restored Vintage Mobile Cinema.
The festival will also include a new collaboration with Birmingham City University, which is offering a programme of inspiring talks.
Julia Chance, Southside BID manager, said: "Last year’s festival was a huge success and we welcomed over 12,000 visitors to the district across the weekend.
"We’re really excited to be bringing back such an inclusive and engaging festival and I’m looking forward to seeing this year’s mix of handpicked artists, illustrators and designers."
Back for a second year, Eye Candy is organised by the team behind Fused Magazine and Area Culture Guide and is jointly funded by Southside Business Improvement District and the European Regional Development Fund.
The festival is designed to bring more visitors to Birmingham and celebrate its rich cultural mix with a range of different activities such as workshops, exhibitions and talks.
West Midlands freelance illustrator Stina Jones is among the local talent, along with Simon Peplow, co-founder of Birmingham Outcrowd Collective.
Kerry O’Coy, editor of Fused Magazine, Area Culture Guide and Eye Candy festival co-ordinator, said: "We’re thrilled to unveil some exciting new artists for this year’s event but also for the return of some of 2012’s most popular including New York-based illustrator Jeremyville.
"We’re also particularly excited as a number of this year’s sites have been specially selected to allow the art to remain in situ following the event giving even more visitors to the district the chance to enjoy some outdoor art."
Further information and a full programme of events can be found www.eyecandyfestival.co.uk and for more information about Birmingham’s Southside district, go to www.enjoysouthside.co.uk
Pick up a programme at the festival hub, Le Truc on Ladywell Walk.
Eye Candy is jointly funded from Southside Business Improvement District and the European Regional Development Fund through its Investing in the City Region project managed by Marketing Birmingham. Arts Council England has also help fund the Speaker programme.
Southside BID was established in 2011 and was created following a ballot of local business owners in the Southside district, which includes Chinatown, Theatreland and the Gay Village. It is funded by a levy paid for by all qualifying business owners in the Southside BID area and operates on a not-for-profit basis.
