After much thought and with great sadness we are rescheduling the Upfest festival, which was due to take place at the end of August to May/June 2022. 

The primary reason is the continuing uncertainty about what Covid requirements will be in place over the next few months. The government promised clear guidance which should have been available in mid-June. As this has been postponed, our window of opportunity to plan and safely host a festival has reached a point where the risk has become too great to continue planning and paying for increasing infrastructure costs which could leave us significantly in debt, should the event not be able to happen at the last minute.

We're also conscious that many people are still not 100% confident about being in large crowds. This is a big consideration to us for our loyal festival-goers, artists and our 80 strong volunteer crew. whom we can't run the festival without. Inclusivity is at the heart of what we do and so it feels too soon to be hosting the event while ensuring everyone can join us. 

We know for many of our artists this was going to be the highlight of the year and the first time back painting amongst friends. We will start planning for our return in 2022 right away and we are looking forward to bringing everyone together as soon as we can in the new year.

In better news, we are halfway through our 75 walls in 75 days and some incredible artworks are appearing on the streets of South Bristol. We are very grateful that we have been able to work on this part of the festival for 2021 and we're looking forward to seeing everyone in the gallery when you visit the new walls. 

Thanks for all your support and understanding

Steve, Emma, Jake, Paul, Fran and the Upfest Crew!