Each year an artist is selected as the festival artist before approximately 300 are selected to paint live at the event. Artists are currently being asked to apply for the 2017 festival ahead of the deadline on 28^th February. Previous festival artists have included Cheo, Turroe, Andy Council, My Dog Sighs, Lokey and Gemma Compton.

Best known for ‘The Chaos Trilogy’, the duo has been dropping their miniature characters into odd spaces for more than a decade, taking inspiration from comics and what they find on and off the streets. Creating artwork that is bold, playful and optimistic, Pahnl uses stencils, film, animation and photography to bring miniature worlds to audiences across UK and beyond.

Pahnl explains;

“We’re psyched to be the festival artists for 2017! There’s a whole host of reasons why we love Upfest; it’s always an amazing time and a place where we’ve made so many of our friends, so it’s an honour to have designed the logo for this year’s edition.”

“This year’s festival logo takes inspiration from the festival itself, so you’ll see our characters taking photos on their phones, kids getting artists to sign their books, an artist looking at a picture reference on his phone for their piece, professional photographers taking snaps, people enjoying good food, great music blaring out, someone walking away with a purchased piece of art; it’s an eclectic piece that shows people what the festival is all about.”

Upfest founder and gallery owner Stephen Hayles explains;

“We are very excited to announce Pahnl as our festival artist for 2017. Upfest has grown to be Europe’s largest live street art and graffiti festival – last year we welcomed more than 300 artists and around 40,000 visitors so we can’t wait to share what 2017 has in store.”

“Artist registration is open until 28^th February, so we’re encouraging artists that want to get involved and paint at the festival to check out the Upfest website.”

Last year, Upfest attracted 300 artists from more than 40 countries world-wide and as far-flung as Canada, Australia, Argentina, Israel and Europe. Around 40,000 visitors came to Bedminster to enjoy the street art, affordable art sales, music stages, live performances, graffiti battles and a chance to meet some of the world’s most famous urban artists.

Due to the sheer volume of artists that attend, the festival is unable to support individuals financially, however, can forward details of accommodation and supply some materials. Once again, this year Upfest will be raising money for The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA) which offer a confidential phone line for children affected by alcoholism within the family unit.