Larkshead Media’s Clare Piggott takes a trip to Europe’s largest urban paint festival.
So what is Upfest I hear you ask? Well for the uninitiated (and according to the pre-festival blurb) it’s Europe’s largest Urban Paint Festival and this year celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Artists travel from over 70 countries including the UK to paint live on 60,000sq feet of surfaces.
Most people have heard of Banksy but what about Inky, Cheo and Jody? These Bristol street artists have each achieved global recognition for their work.
What drew me to Upfest this year (my first) was my latest signing – Sophie Long, who was one of this year’s chosen artists. More about Sophie later on…
Over 1,000 artists applied to Upfest this year and around 400 were selected. What I liked most was the use of space and the variety of places that become pop up canvasses – be that walls, doors, shop fronts, pub interiors or public spaces.
It’s also the variety of scale that makes each piece worth a look – some are tiny, just a single image such as a golden apple half way up a wall, or you can stand and watch an artist create an amazing installation using the side of a house… no fear of heights here!
You can also talk to the artists as they work – they are really comfortable when taking a break to chat to you about what they are creating and why.
So, it feels very interactive and immediate. Also everyone becomes an instant art critic, commenting on their favourite pieces.
It’s a wonderfully creative ramble around and about North Street and I was struck by how inclusive Upfest felt – the range of age groups was incredibly wide; one moment you are dodging mobility scooters and the next you are watching three to five year olds learning graffiti techniques accompanied by a singing horse!
It’s a sizeable event now too with cordoned off streets in anticipation of some 50,000 Upfest visitors.
Most of the main centres such as South St Park, Ashton Gate Stadium and the Tobacco Factory each have their own DJ which creates a particular soundtrack as you watch artists at work. I recommend the Tobacco Factory where Nic, Nina and I enjoyed a drink while listening to some early 90’s party vibes. There’s even a secret ‘Dodgy Disco’ – let me know if you are interested for next year…
Yummy street food and drink offer delicious choices at every point along your route. A huge variety of tastes and flavours to accompany your multi-sensory journey.
This year to celebrate the theme of collaboration and partnership a group of artists were selected by Matt Groening to paint the Simpsons.
Their canvasses were fairly large – the image of Lisa created by Nomad Clan situated by the Aldi struck me as particularly powerful and I got to chat to an artist who was creating her Simpsons piece on the corner of South Street.
Just amazing to see what 16 hours of painting can produce.
And so to Sophie who created her ‘Save the Bees’ piece as part of a group of artists working in South Street Park.
I was fascinated to watch as the piece took shape – and quickly too – working outside really concentrates the mind.
Sophie has a particular interest in all manner of endangered species so it seemed only fitting that she would choose bees for her project this year.
I’m really looking forward to working with Sophie and introducing her to a number of licensees at Brand Licensing Europe later this year.
So what’s it like to experience Upfest for the first time?
Well one of my first recollections would have to be the smell of the spray paint varying in strength depending on which venue you are visiting!
Overall it’s fun, like all good festivals should be – you can eat, drink, walk and watch artists at work and I for one will certainly be returning next year.
Final comment goes to Angus who works with tiles and paint – highly suitable I hope you will agree given the range of characters involved in his mural – enjoy!
Clare Piggott is director of licensing and merchandising at Larkshead Media. She can be contacted by clicking here.
