Since our first festival in 2008, it has always been free to register for an artist space, and for visitors to attend. We want to keep it that way. In 2022, we had over 1,000 applications for 400 festival artist spaces and around 50,000 people joined us over the festival weekend.

For us, keeping the Upfest festival free is at the very heart of our ethos. If we had to choose between charging for it or not putting it on, we just wouldn’t do it; being inclusive is that essential to what we’re all about.

We’re not an ‘invitation only’ festival. Anyone’s welcome to apply to be a festival artist and we give as many people as possible the opportunity to paint. We’re always humbled that so many artists want to take part in the festival, and on the whole at their own cost. In return, they get a fantastic platform for their work, the opportunity to develop and come together with other artists, which often leads to new partnerships and collaborations.

The festival also contributes to the local economy and the quality of life in the community that extends way beyond the festival weekend. And our volunteers, partners, and visitors - who often come from around the globe and from all walks of life - tell us it’s a brilliant event and always a highlight of the year.

We believe this all goes to show there’s a big desire to see the festival return in 2024.

We’ve seen the festival grow significantly over 15 years, and in 2022 we brought everyone together with a brand new set-up for the main festival weekend at Greville Smyth Park in Bedminster, Bristol. With artists painting temporary and purpose-built installations, alongside children’s activities, stalls and a music stage, it was a huge success with overwhelmingly positive feedback.

We want to use this formula to bring the festival back to the park in 2024, building on the great experience we had there last time around. We’ve put together a budget to do this and costs are coming out at least 15% higher than 2022. Ultimately though, even after finding ways to bring the budget down, any event that attracts a potential 50,000 visitors comes with certain responsibilities and a significant amount of infrastructure and organisation.

It’s vital we keep everyone safe and secure over the weekend and put on a festival that’s as inclusive, accessible, and welcoming to all, as possible.

That means we need to cover costs for toilets (including high dependency), water, waste management, fencing, first aid, security, radios, insurance and support from a health and safety advisor.

Here’s a breakdown of what it takes just to keep our festival safe and clean.

Security £30,000, First aid £3,500, H&S Advisor £4,000, Insurances £5,500, Radio hire £1,000, Fencing £6,000, Water £3,850, Waste Management £8,000, Toilets £11,750...

That’s alongside the costs for each artist to paint at the festival, which includes paint contributions and the spaces for them to paint on. Plus, our extensive range of free kids activities and entertainment, keeping our volunteer crew fed and watered, and paying the council fees for using the park.

Whether you can donate £5 or £500 your contribution will make a real difference to how we bring the festival back in 2024

We hope to raise 10% of our 2024 budget through your donations and support. In the new year, we’ll look at where we are with our fundraising activities and decide what’s possible for the format of the festival. That means, any contribution you make before the end of 2023 will help drive the decision on what the Upfest festival looks like in 2024.

Where will the rest of the funding come from?

Alongside asking for your support through donations, we’ve also launched a Patreon if you fancy becoming part of our exclusive access community. We’re also working with a sponsorship expert to help us find sponsors for the festival that align with our values and ethics. And we’re seeking financial support through public arts funding sources.

These support routes sit alongside the contributions we receive from traders and art sales during the festival weekend.

What happens to my donation if the Upfest festival doesn’t reach its funding targets and/or the festival can’t go ahead in the planned format?

The overall target we need to raise from all our funding activities is £250,000. This is the amount we need for the Upfest festival to go ahead in the format we have planned - bringing it back to Greville Smyth Park, following the same great formula of the 2022 festival. So, what happens with the Upfest festival in 2024 is about more than achieving what we hope to raise through this fundsurfer.

If we don’t reach the overall £250,000 target, the size and scale of what we’re able to do will need to change. This could mean that, rather than the festival weekend in the park, we instead organise and work with artists to create new and replacement artworks in and around Bedminster during summer 2024. If we end up hosting something in this format, we will of course collectively credit everyone who donates and supports us here.