A Nailsea boy has become the youngest ever to take part in Upfest- at just 10 years old. Harry 'Haz' Bingham was headhunted after gaining followers on social media for his drawings.
Upfest had only around 40 artists taking part in its first year back in 2008, but this has grown over the years and now more than 400 artists flock to the city to paint. After the festival took a covid enforced hiatus it is now back this year with Grove Junior School pupil Harry - who started to develop his street art style during lockdown - among the artists taking part, reports Somerset Live.
Football and rugby-mad Harry turned his creative passion to drawing when he found his legs got too tired for sport and he needed to channel his energy elsewhere. Mum Leah set up his Instagram account #hazart where Harry found and followed fellow street artists who in turn followed him back.
READ MORE: New Upfest 2022 artwork starts to emerge in south Bristol
Harry is a big fan of international street artist My Dog Sighs and Paul ‘Monsters’ Roberts. My Dog Sighs style is a combination of melancholic and naive portraiture and he uses discarded rubbish like food cans.
Paul is a multi-disciplinary artist working with tessellating geometric patterns. constructing abstract shapes inspired by nature, architecture and spirituality. Leah said: “He’s always been fascinated with Bristol street art and started experimenting with his own.
“He’s a regular in the Upfest Gallery in North Street so everyone got to know him. He went to a book signing and talk by My Dog Sighs - I was completely out of my comfort zone. That really inspired him. I applied online and they looked at his Instagram and got accepted."
Leah added: “I really didn’t expect him to get in, so I was shocked and he’s very excited and chilled about the whole thing.” Harry told the festival organisers: “Art is my favourite subject at school and I’ve always loved walking through the city with family looking at the cool street art.
“I started my own street art style when I was aged nine during lockdown. I enjoy drawing in sketchbooks at home and often create boards using POSCA pens.
“I have also been to art classes where I learned to make and use stencils and I am getting better at using cans but must practise this in the garden.” The Year 5 pupil isn’t the only talented artist in his family as big sister Grace, aged 14, and granddad Steve also love to draw.
The free festival is on Saturday and Sunday, May 28- 29. Murals started emerging in the streets of Bedminster from the start of this month and after three weeks of street painting, the festival weekend will see hundreds of artists painting live with festival hubs at Tobacco Factory and Ashton Gate Stadium.
For the first year the festival will take over Greville Smyth Park which is on Ashton Gate Road postcode BS3 2EQ as its main venue with music and live painting across the weekend. Harry will be painting in the Greville Smyth Park over two days alongside the music stages and food and drink experiences on the festival weekend on a 1mX1m canvass.
For more information click here.
