Swindon & Wiltshire News
Street art festival set to return – with ‘gallery’ in retail hotspot
Street art festival Upfest is set to return to Bristol next month – with an ‘outdoor gallery’ in the heart of the city’s retail district.
Upfest 2026 kicks off with Quakers Art Lane in partnership with Cabot Circus
from Friday, April 24 to Tuesday, May 5.
Artists including Inkie, Melo, Insane51, My Dog Sighs and HazardOne will transform Bristol city centre into a vibrant street art gallery.
Expanding beyond Bedminster and Southville for the first time, the collaboration will bring five renowned artists to Bristol city centre to create a series of large-scale murals.
Building on Dave Bain’s Aardman inspired mural on Quakers Lane, these five new murals will complete the transition of the lane into a must-visit destination.
Bristolian legend Inkie, one of the most influential names to emerge from the city’s graffiti movement, returns to Upfest as a long-time supporter of the festival.
His work can be seen across Bristol, including three artworks along North Street in Bedminster; his signature Ink Nouveau style has become a huge part of Bristol’s visual landscape.
Bristol-based muralist and Upfest 2026 festival artist Melo also joins the line-up.
Known for her vibrant characters and bold use of colour, Melo’s work has been seen across Bristol, including a recent mural completed live onsite at the official Women’s Rugby World Cup Fan Zone at Bristol Amphitheatre last September in a vibrant tribute to women, sport and the spirit of the city.
Internationally renowned Greek artist Insane51 will be creating one of his Double Exposure 3D murals at Quakers Art Lane.
His work combines photorealistic imagery with skeletons that come into focus through different coloured lenses adding another dimension to every piece he produces.
For Upfest’s 2021 75 Walls project, he created NYX holding Serene, a huge mural on the Tobacco Factory that used his signature coloured filter technique to create a multi-dimensional masterpiece.
Contemporary street artist My Dog Sighs is internationally acclaimed for his hyper‑emotive eye murals, tin‑can characters, and deeply human storytelling through urban art.
He rose to fame with his Freeartfriday project, leaving free artworks in public for people to find, helping spark the global Free Art Movement.
The Portsmouth-based artist is no stranger to Bristol having collaborated with Upfest numerous times over its 18 year history. His stand out mural with artist Curtis Hylton can be found on the side of the Rising Sun at the top of Windmill HIll.
Completing the line-up is Bristol artist HazardOne, who has been named one of the UK’s Top 5 female graffiti artists by The Guardian and among the world’s Top 25 female street artists by The Huffington Post.
Combining vibrant colours with glitch effects, her work has been seen across the globe, from the top floor of the World Trade Centre in New York to a seven-story tall mural in St.Pauls.
Each mural will reflect Bristol through the artist’s distinctive style, drawing inspiration from the city’s music, creativity and cultural identity. Together they will transform the lane into a colourful outdoor gallery at the heart of the city.
Steve Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, said: “Upfest has always been about celebrating Bristol’s street art culture and sharing it with the world. Partnering with Cabot Circus to create Quakers Art Lane feels like the perfect collaboration, bringing more street rt right into the heart of the city.
“Watching five incredible artists transform this space into a permanent outdoor gallery will be something really special. It’s a chance to celebrate Bristol’s creativity while giving artists the freedom to leave their mark on the city.”
Laura Reynolds, destination director at Cabot Circus, said: “Bristol is internationally recognised for its street art and creative culture, and we’re proud to partner with Upfest to bring even more of that energy into Cabot Circus.
“Quakers Art Lane will create a vibrant new cultural destination in the city centre where visitors can experience world-class street art up close while celebrating the incredible talent connected to Bristol.”
The completion of Quakers Art Lane on May 5 will begin the countdown to Upfest 2026, which returns to Bristol from Friday 15 to Sunday 31 May.
Main pic: My Dog Sighs, by paulbox ©. Inset: Inkie
