UpFest 09

I toddled over to Bristol yesterday to catch this year’s UpFest – and found it to be well worth the trip. I managed to cram six venues into the afternoon – five of which featured live painting.

Tobacco Factory

A mixed-use venue for the arts, the outer space of which was given up to the live art event. Fantastic mix of graf artists, with pieces being developed at varying rates. What was so good to see was how they were working – to see them act, ponder, plan, reflect and react. Stencils, pencils and paint in abundance and a relaxed atmosphere to boot.

This has to be Dale Grimshaw – whose work I went completely gaga over even more when I saw some of it in View Gallery later in the day.

North Street Garage

Utterly brilliant use of a disused space. A former garage space was gathering dust and doing nothing. The owners gave permission for it to be used for the festival – sanctioned painting both inside and outside. With so many disused spaces going begging in Birmingham, I would dearly love to see something similar happen locally.

It was vibrant and buzzing with artists and hawkers alike. The aerosol fumes were apparent, but in an enticing way. Me ol’ mucker Julian Kimmings was at work here and, although I didn’t manage to catch him, I did catch his work in progress.

The Kimmings at play

Try Again Pub

Up the road from North Street Garage was the Try Again Pub. Walls had been give up for artists to get to work on. It and the garage, perhaps, were the rawest environments that the festival offered up in terms of their context. Their was a distinct sense of fun happening here – a little bit of mischief – with the artists friendly and the tone very relaxed. This was cider stop number one of the afternoon, of course.

Riverside

Boards up and spray cans out. There were a few artists at work, but a few empty boards at the time I got there. Nonetheless, I’m always a bit greedy for more live work.

Grain Barge

Following a short waterborne moment, I reached The Grain Barge. Beer, music and live art. Hello, we like this! Not only was this cider stop number two, but with an outlook to Harbourside and the likes of Faunagraphic getting messy with the good stuff, it was a blimmin’ gem!

View Gallery

I’m so glad the journey ended at View Gallery, because it just brought it all together for me. Sometimes I hear people trying to drive a wedge between street art and gallery art and this show really stuck it to them.

I’d inadvertantly witnessed one of the artists exhibiting here at work over at the Tobacco Factory earlier in the afternoon and I’d been proper hawky watching him crafting. That’ll be Dale Grimshaw, then. Bloody awesome. Not only did I dribble longingly over Grimshaw’s stuff, I did exactly the same for Snik’s work. Snik was interior and exterior. A piece of his work on the side wall of View provided a sneaky welcome, but not as sneaky as his work daubed on the floor immediately as you walked into the gallery. I’m such a numbnut that I scooted round it as it would have been like walking over a gravestone to actually step on it – sacrilege.

Works by Banksy, Fake, Logan Hicks and Fark also pricked an interest in this ‘ere lass.

Snik outside

Snik on the floor

Banksy

Dale Grimshaw – Dona Nobis Pacem

Dale Grimshaw – No Rest For The Wicked

Fark – Montana Munny

Fake – Painting God

I’m still digesting it all – there was so much to take in. I know I’d love to see events like this happening across Birmingham – an art walk, a live art festival, or suchlike. Some cohesive activity that brings together some of the brilliant, but currently fragmented, activity tha occurs at present.

Mind you, I’d also like to have a few grand going spare so I could actually buy a few pieces of Dale Grimshaw’s work and lick it.