Cough up for UpFest: Bristol’s street art festival needs your help
Posted on: 10 May 2017The festival, due to take place on North Street between 29th-31st July, is seeking financial help from the people of Bristol through a crowdfunding campaign.
***DONATE TO THE CROWDFUNDER HERE***
Only in Bristol would the word ‘up’ be an acronym for ‘urban paint’, with UpFest the primary celebration of street art in a city so widely famed for its graffiti. Having annually taken over the streets of Bedminster for a late July weekend since 2008, the festival has become the largest of its kind in Europe.
This year, though, UpFest is in need of funding and is asking for your help. A crowdfunding campaign has been launched through Fundsurfer, with four days remaining for donations to reach the target of £20,000. The project is all or nothing, which means if that sum is not reached in time then any pledges made previously will be cancelled. At the time of writing, the kitty stands just under half-full at £9540.
A series of rewards, ranging from t-shirts to exclusive prints from Gemma Compton and Sophie Long, have been offered to encourage donations in the final push of crowdfunding. Head to the Fundsurfer page for a comprehensive list.
According to UpFest organisers, the money would cover overheads like scaffolding, cherry pickers and power access equipment, boards for the artists to paint, fencing, safety barriers to help crowd flow, staging, security, and of course, thousands of cans of spray paint.
If the funding were to be secured, organisers have promised that the event will be even bigger than last year’s, which drew 40,000 spectators and 300 artists (from 50 countries) to North Street.
To donate to UpFest, click here. For more information on the festival, head over to their website.
Article by:
An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
