UPFEST launch new Crowdfunder and announce headline artist for 2024

UPFEST launch new Crowdfunder and announce headline artist for 2024

Posted on: 20 Mar 2024

Spreading the love with paint, artist, activist, and advocate Mister Samo will be spraying messages of love all over Bedminster this May.

 

UPFEST PRESENTS will run across Bedminster and Southville from Friday 17 May until Sunday 2 June 2024.

 

A new rewards system has been added to UPFEST PRESENTS’ annual Crowdfunder, supporting the essential costs of the 17-day events programme, with book and sticker bundles, mystery gift packs, a mystery print, and an exclusive Mister Samo t-shirt all available.

 

Visit the crowdfunding page for more information.

UPFEST is returning as you’ve never seen it before, and the beloved street art festival has today unveiled its headline artist for 2024. Mister Samo is on a mission to spread love and inclusion through his art with the Portsmouth-based trans artist and activist set to showcase his big and bold creations in Bedminster.

 

The new and improved UPFEST will bring more layers of fresh paint to the city’s creative community with 75 murals painted across BS3 alongside workshops, artist panels, comedy, theatre, street art tours and more.

 

Donations to the Crowdfunder will support the delivery of this street art extravaganza with as little as £5 going towards lunch for one of the volunteers, £10 will provide an artist with three cans of spray paint and £250 contributing to the cost of free children’s activities.

Working with spray paint and acrylics, Mister Samo has been painting with a focus on intersectional gender identity and community since 2013. His work can be seen across the globe, including a piece for World Pride 2019 in New York for Stonewall, with the aim of sparking conversation and challenging perceptions.

 

Speaking about his unveiling as UPFEST’s headline artist, Mister Samo has said: “I am so honoured to be the headline artist this year! 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.”

UPFEST PRESENTS will run across Bedminster and Southville from Friday 17 May until Sunday 2 June 2024. Visit the crowdfunding page for more information.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.