Buildings appeal as street art festival returns to resort
UPFEST – Europe’s largest street art festival – is returning to Westonsuper-Mare this summer while it takes a year out from its massive Bristol event.
Weston Wallz will be returning to the seaside town for the third year, bringing teams of talented artists to transform buildings with colourful new murals.
A selection of local, national and international artists will be adding their work to the art created during previous Weston Wallz festivals in 2021 and 2022.
The festival takes place from May 24 until June 4 and is once again being run in partnership with Weston-super-Mare Town Council and Culture Weston, with support from Arts Council England.
In December it was announced that Upfest would not happen in Bristol in 2023 due to the “increasing costs related to the events industry”. Organisers said they “simply won’t be able raise the necessary funds to put on the event that we know you all love and deserve”, but that they hope to bring their “iconic” Bristol festival back in 2024.
In the meantime, the team is currently looking for owners of prominent buildings in and around Weston town centre that could be considered for the new collection of murals to get in touch.
Visitors and residents can already check out incredible pieces from world-class street artists including Insane51, Curtis Hylton, Sian Storey, TeaOne, Vee, Damien Jefferies, David Puck, Aspire, Caryn Koh, Emily Joy Rich, Sophie Long, Acerone, Bev G Star, Bex Glover, and Paul Monsters, who each made their mark with their signature styles.
Upfest co-founder, Stephen Hayles, said: “We are excited to continue on the street art trail so if anyone has a building or property that would be good to add to the project they should get in touch.”
Artists and locations will be announced in the coming months leading up to the project and street art fans are invited to come down and follow the process.
An interactive Google Map is available to identify the murals and witness the transformation of ordinary walls to town landmarks.
Owners of buildings who would like to take part in Weston Wallz should contact Emma@upfest.co. uk.