Another summer, another Southend City Jam – and another year of Montana Cans being part of the action. From August 28–30, 2026, the streets of Southend-on-Sea once again turned into a huge open-air gallery, with more than 200 local, national and international artists painting live across the city center and seafront. Organized by Southend-on-Sea City Council together with local artists and street art advocates Steve Hart and Karl Sims, Southend City Jam has grown into a firm fixture on the UK street art calendar. Building walls, shopfronts, shutters and temporary surfaces became canvases for everything from classic graffiti and lettering to illustration, portraiture and large-scale murals.
For many years running, Montana Cans has been proud to support the event with spray paint. For the 2026 edition, Montana GOLD and Montana BLACK were supplied with the support of Montana Cans UK and Global Art Supplies, helping artists bring another round of new work to the streets of Southend. Among the artists taking part were Ansley Randall, Ekto, Ellespaint, Jacklack, Octofly Art, Oddhouse / Odisy, Philth, Ricky Also, Rocket01, Roo, Scaf-Oner, Sidok / Reves One, Ster, Stocke, Tech Moon, Woskerski, Zurik, Jeks, Sofles, Ajax Piper, Ana Fish, Andy Downes, Captain Kris, Dante Arcade, Dooms, Doppel, Ed209, Elrond & Nacho Mawe, Gent48, Jimmer Willmott, Joe Greenaway, JXC, Klonism, KMG, Luke Smile, marcamix, Mark Ward, Miguel H. Cuar, Niser, Peter Sheridan, prefab77, Shona Hardie, Skyhigh and Smilin Lewie, alongside a huge line-up of festival artists from the UK and beyond.
One of this year’s standout large-scale works came from Tech Moon, who transformed an entire building into a monumental throne. Combining painted architectural features with different surface textures and tattoo-inspired details, the mural plays with the contrast between classical imagery and contemporary visual culture.
As Tech Moon explains:
“I’ve had this idea for a while and it was great to finally make it happen in Southend. Turning a building into a giant throne, sculpting with paint and playing with multiple textures including tattoos was definitely a challenge, but I’m happy with the result. It has a real presence, especially when you’re walking up the hill and it appears around the corner. I liked the juxtaposition of modern and classic themes and the opportunity to experiment more with painted architectural features. As always, painted with Montana Cans.” – Tech Moon
With another weekend of walls, colors and ideas now added to the city, Southend City Jam continues to build an evolving collection of public art that remains long after the festival itself is over. Big thanks to everyone involved in Southend City Jam 2026, all participating artists, organizers and supporters – and to Montana Cans UK and Global Art Supplies for helping keep the cans moving. See you at the next one.
Featured Artists
Photography by Southend City Jam