Upfest Organisers must raise £30k to stage event
BRISTOL street art festival Upfest is aiming to raise £30,000 by April 10 so that this year’s festival can go ahead.
The funds from the crowdfunder will make up only a sixth of the budget, with the entire event costing over £180,000.
The crowdfunding programme enables the Upfest team and volunteers to put on this free festival year after year. It goes towards paying for the vital infrastructure – such as security and materials – that it takes to manage the tens of thousands of visitors, as well as providing materials to the more than 400 attending artists who all financially support themselves with travel and accommodation for the festival.
The crowdfunder reads: “This summer, our new format will see street painting from 100 artists between May 5 and 25 followed by the main festival taking over Greville Smyth Park from May 28 to 29 for our first ever ‘green field’ festival.
“The boards and canvases previously found across a multitude of South Bristol venues will be brought together for a huge weekend-long celebration of street art in the spectacular park, the first time the space has been used for a festival, in addition to Ashton Gate Stadium, and The Tobacco Factory, the original Upfest venue.
“The huge walls and murals traditionally painted during the festival weekend, will be created in the three weeks leading up to the festival weekend; giving more people the chance to witness these spectacular creations come to life first-hand. The murals will be complete for viewing while over 300 artists paint live alongside music stages and food and drink experiences.
“We need to raise £30,000 from crowd-funding, a sixth of our budget, towards this year’s costs to host the free festival for anyone to enjoy...so let’s make it happen people!”
And Upfest organisers are making sure supporters get something back. In addition to supporting this year’s festival, street art fans can also get their hands on the fourth edition of the official Upfest book which they can purchase on Fundsurfer for £30. An optional limited edition framed copy includes a surprise back cover featuring an exclusive piece of original artwork from some of the best street artists featured in the book.
In addition to the launch of the latest Upfest book, contributors to the crowdfunding can also get their hands on a mix of rewards from having their own mural created by Farrah to a Stencil Workshop with Diff. Stephen Hayles, Upfest founder said: “We’re incredibly proud of the growth of Upfest over the past 15 years. However, as we’ve grown so too has the cost to run the free festival.
“Crowdfunding has always played a huge part in funding Upfest and presents a perfect opportunity to raise the money needed to put on the festival and also give something back to the people who support us each year. As we are moving to our first ever park location, we are excited to be able to host more people than ever amongst our artists live painting in one of Bristol’s best green spaces.”
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