Inside Europe's Largest Street Art Festival

Work by Cheo. Photo by Neil James. Courtesy of Upfest

Street art and graffiti don’t require admission when it comes to viewing. You can stumble on a piece by accident or scout out a location to see work from both famous and up-and-coming artists.

Billed as “Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival,” Upfest took place from July 23–July 25 in Britsol, with live painting, workshops, and live music. The festival included a large and impressive roster of artists including Fin DAC, Sophie Long, Ant Carver, Eraze, Voyder, Julie Gough, Kes, Liz Clayton, Mondo, Skie One, and many more.

Established in 2008, Upfest came into being at the right place and the right time. Stephen Hayles, festival director and founder, tells The Creators Project, “I suppose the real catalyst was getting made redundant from my insurance job twice in a row so I guess you could say the planets were aligned and instead of me and 15 friends getting together it became a gathering of friends and friends of friends." Hayles continues, “In October 2008 around 50 artists and 500 visitors came together for the first event, little did we realize that eight years later it would have manifested into 300 artists and 30,000+ visitors.”

A lot of those visitors include children. While festivals like these are usually catered to adults and other graffiti/street art figures, Upfest decided to make the festival something larger. Since the first festival, the team connected with NACOA, National Association for Children of Alcoholics, a charity that supports children who are struggling with an unstable upbringing due to alcoholism in the family. The festival is a way for kids to be exposed to art and also explore their own creativity.

“This element and also our festival ethos of 'Inclusion' has led to our core values to include children's activities throughout the festival,” wrote Hayles. “Street art/graffiti and urban art seems to effortlessly engage children and their creative spirit, where some more traditional art forms/galleries and museums can find that difficult. "We think this is down to the pure nature and somewhat non-academic approach of what our artists do."

At first, the team accepted virtually any artist that applied. Recently, they've been receiving more than 200 applicants per year—which meant some criteria needed to be instated.

“We allocate one third of the spaces to Bristol artists demonstrating our commitment to local talent, one third UK and one third to the rest of the world,” wrote Hayles. “We then categorize artists by style to ensure we have the most diverse selection of artists attending the festival as possible.”

This year alone, 700 artists registered from more than 40 different countries. Hayles explains that if they could take everyone, they absolutely would — but resources only allow for so many artists.

The artists who do come to the festival end up making an impact not only on the festival’s attendees but also on each other. Hayles notes that some of them have collaborated in later pieces or even exhibited in shows together. Their interactions with the people watching them work is also extremely valuable.

“The huge murals are the ones that grab the headlines, but for me it's the conversations between the 15-year-old aspiring artists and the 50-year-old masters both learning from each other that make it all worth it."

To learn more about Upfest, click here.

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