One of Bristol's favourite events has taken place on the streets of South Bristol for the past 15 years. However, in order to celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, help is needed from loyal supporters.
Europe’s largest free, live street and urban art festival is pledging to raise £30,000 by April 10 in order for this year’s festival go ahead. The funds from the crowdfund will make up only a sixth of the budget, with the entire event costing over £180,000.
The crowdfund details the breakdown of costs as: "Security, First Aid, Welfare & Cleaning 31%, Materials & Equipment 28%, Artist Materials & Costs 21%, Insurance & Licences 8%, Marketing 7%, Administration 2%, Other Costs 3%". As well as this, the team is detailed "Upfest is made up of three staff members, three directors, twenty five year-round key volunteers and another sixty-plus helping out over the festival period… these are some of the most dedicated and hard working people going and we couldn’t do any of this without them."
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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 it takes to manage the tens of thousands of visitors, as well as providing materials to the festival's 400+ attending artists who all financially support themselves with travel and accommodation for the festival.
The crowdfund reads: "This summer, our new format will see street painting from 100 artists between the 5th & 25th of May followed by the main festival taking over Greville Smyth Park from 28th to 29th May 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 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 over 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 an eclectic mix of fabulous rewards from having their own mural created by Farrah to a Stencil Workshop with Diff. There are many other exciting things on offer, from tote bags to caps..
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.”
To donate and grab these exclusive rewards you can visit fundsurfer.com/upfest. To keep up to date with all Upfest news and announcements, visit the festival’s website and follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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