Helping to prove Bristol’s street art scene is more than just Banksy, the annual graffiti festival Upfest in Bedminster and Southville has become one of the key dates in Bristol’s cultural calendar. Since the first festival in 2008, the free-to-register/free-to-attend event has transformed Bedminster into an open-air art gallery filled with murals from the world’s greatest graffiti artists.
Sadly last year’s festival was cancelled due to rising costs, with organisers deciding to switch to a biannual mode. But as promised, Europe’s largest street art festival is returning for 2024. It just might look a little different – with an 17-day cultural programme (May 18 to June 2) taking over BS3 for Upfest Presents… And now the full line-up has been revealed!
What will Upfest 2024 look like?
The last Upfest in 2022 saw a new format for the main festival weekend. Taking place at Greville Smyth Park in Bedminster, Upfest saw 400 artists paint temporary and purpose-built installations for 50,000 visitors, alongside children’s activities, food stalls and a music stage. But organisers are switching things up again for Upfest Presents…
In place of its weekend festival, Upfest will return in 2024 in a new guise, with over 200 artworks and murals to be painted across Southville over two weeks. Upfest Presents will pop up at multiple venues across Bedminster and wider BS3 with free-to-attend workshops, live painting, artist talks, art activities, panel discussions, theatre, comedy and tours exploring the area.
Bristol favourites such as Inkie, Jody, Bex Glover, Tozer and more will leave their signature styles on Bedminster. Global artists like Los Angeles-based painter, Audrey Kawasaki, known for her distinctive portrayals of young, adolescent women; Serbian muralist, Artez with his mix of photorealism and illustrations; and London’s EPOD – blending concept paintings, graffiti and fine art – will join them.
Other artists heading to Upfest Presents… include A L Grime, Aspire, Liam Bononi, Jagung, Georgie Webster, HazardOne and many more. Each artist will bring their own distinct techniques to South Bristol. They’ll also join headline artist, Mister Samo, with the Portsmouth-based trans street artist and activist on a mission to “spread love and inclusion” with his big and bold creations.
“I am so honoured to be the headline artist this year!” said Mister Samo. “It’s a real powerful statement for the team to put a trans artist at the forefront of the event during these times. They are showing their allyship with the community and in itself bringing change and inclusion. I really hope this sheds a positive and powerful light on the community, and the joy and love there is to be celebrated – and you can easily support by picking up one of my UPFEST t-shirts on the crowdfunder. ”
There’s now just a few days left to raise the essential funds needed to host this uniquely Bristol event. £5 goes towards a volunteer’s lunch, while £10 can provide an artist with three cans of spray paint. If you donate £25, you’ll be rewarded with an exclusive T-shirt from Mister Samo himself. You can donate to Upfest Presents’ crowdfunder by heading here.
“Upfest Presents… represents a new incarnation for the festival this year, more focussed on programming the mural creation with a huge spectrum of other activities across a 2 week period,” said festival co-founder, Stephen Hayles. “This means we won’t have a festival in the park but means we can spread the joy of Upfest across 17 days including 3 weekends.”
“There will be tons for artists, art lovers and families to get involved in, while you can pop down and see murals being created throughout the whole period. Huge thanks to Arts Council England for giving us the opportunity to create the event this year and we’re looking forward to supporting local artists as well as welcoming artists from all over the world to Bristol.”
Upest Presents will take place from May 18 to June 2. Not only will we large-scale murals on buildings throughout the areas of Bedminster and Southville, with a schedule available for visitors to pop by and see their progress. But we’ll also see artists taking part in mini paint-jams, talks and panel discussions about their work and visitors and artists alike will be invited to curated events at venues in Bedminster and beyond.
With nearly 200 artists now announced, you can see the full-line up at Upfest Presents by heading here.