Watch a preview of Virtually Upfest

Watch a preview of Virtually Upfest

Posted on: 24 Sep 2020

Your first look at Virtually Upfest.

 

On Friday, a virtual version of Bristol’s street art festival, Upfest, launches.

 

Virtually Upfest will see Bedminster’s North Street virtually reconstructed with a retro Tron-style feel, in an alternative way for people to experience the festival.

 

The 2020 edition of Upfest was cancelled earlier this year due to COVID-19.  

 

The Virtually Upfest world will cover the area from the Upfest gallery down to the Tobacco Factory. The online event runs from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September, with more than 30 new pieces of work to explore. 

 

The artwork on display comes from a spectrum of UK artists, and each piece has been made specifically for the virtual arena.

 

The virtual world has been created by Montpelier-based augmented and virtual reality studio Zubr, with the help of Arts Council England’s emergency response funding.

 

Ahead of this weekend’s celebration, the Zubr team have created a special preview video. Watch:

 

 

Virtually Upfest will be free to access via Upfest.co.uk from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September. It will be compatible with both VR headsets as well as mobile phones and laptops.  

 

Zubr’s Tron-like design has taken influence from the 1982 Sci-fi film which saw arcade owner Kevin Flynn reconstituted within an internal, 3D graphical world of computers.

 

The announcement of Virtually Upfest coincides with even more positive news – Upfest 2021 is in the works. 

 

Subject to licence, funding and safety measures, the festival will return to BS3 between Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 June 2021, with an extended programme starting a few weeks before. 

 

Artists who were successful in being allocated a space in 2020 will be given first refusal on returning to the festival next year.

 

For more information, including artist line-ups and releases, follow @upfest on social media or visit www.upfest.co.uk


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Article by:

Kate Hutchison

 


Kate Hutchison

Get in touch with Kate at kate@365bristol.com