Sand, sea and spray paint as Weston Wallz returns for 2022
After a successful launch in 2021, Upfest, the creators of Europe’s largest street art festival, will once again head to the coast this July to bring more murals to the seaside, in partnership with Weston-super-Mare Town Council and Culture Weston.
Weston Wallz will take place from the 22nd to the 31st of July, with around 20 street artists creating large-scale murals. These will add to the current street art trail from 2021, featuring artworks from a diverse mix of artists including Jody, Irony, Hazard One, Dan Kitchener, Farrah Fortnam, Tozer, John Curtis, Damian Nicholson, Andy Council and Shruti Ashish.
Each artist will bring their own style to create one-off designs on a variety of walls and locations around the town centre, if you own a property in the centre with a prominent wall which you’d like to be considered for the trail then please get in contact with Upfest via their website or social media.
Malcolm Nicholson, Town Clerk at Weston Town Council said: “Last year was a huge success for Weston Wallz and was received so well by the town. There was so much interest in what was going on so we’re more than excited to be bringing it back and encouraging new visitors to the town to come and see the street art happening live.”
Tom Newman, Culture Weston programme manager said; “’We are thrilled to be bringing Upfest back to Weston this year. Weston Wallz builds on the burgeoning popularity and reputation for great street art in the town and will create vibrant new landmarks for the town. Investing in the town in this way will add to its distinctive cultural identity, draw new visitors to the town and boost local business.’
Upfest co-founder, Stephen Hayles, added: “When we brought Upfest to Weston last year, we didn’t know how people were going to react to it, but to see the support and demand for more is incredible. We want to say a big thanks to the town council and Culture Weston for investing back into this initiative and funding the project. The architecture in Weston is amazing, so if anyone has a building or knows of a property that would be great for this – get in touch.”
The initiative has been funded by a grant from Weston Town Council and Culture Weston and hopes to further grow the town’s cultural identity, attract new visitors and boost local business.
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 will be created for trail hunters to easily identify the murals and witness the transformation of ordinary corners becoming landmarks in the town.
To keep up to date with artist announcements and location reveals, you can follow Weston Wallz on Twitter and Instagram or visit the Upfest website for more information. Further details will be available at www.superculture.org.uk and https://wsm-tc.gov.uk.