COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into the plans of summer festival organizers. But Sudbury’s Up Here festival isn’t going to let a pandemic get in the way of art.
So, while the annual summer event won’t be going ahead in the form it usually does, Up Here’s tradition of commissioning new public art will continue this year.
What does that mean for you? Well, do you happen to have a nice wall in need of a mural?
“You’ve got a great wall that could use some colour? You’d like to have an Up Here mural in your neighbourhood? We are looking to grow our list of potential mural locations around Greater Sudbury for consideration by our artistic team,” Up Here said in a July 9 post on its website.
If you have a wall you would like immortalized with a mural, head to Up Here’s website and fill out the submission form. Here, we’ll even make it easy for you by providing the link to the correct page.
Once Up Here’s artistic committee has finalized the list of muralists who will be creating this year’s selection of murals, the artists are presented a list of available walls from which to choose the site that will best fit their vision.
“The final selection really comes down to the artist, what they want to do and where their work will have the largest impact,” Up Here said.
Over the past eight years, Up Here has focussed on the downtown core when it comes to where to place new murals. This year, the festival is looking for Sudbury’s best walls, whether they’re in the downtown core or not.
“Since 2012, we’ve focussed of the downtown core in order to create a nice density of urban art within walking distance of each other,” organizers said. “We are now ready to expand our reach. We are looking for Sudbury’s best walls.”
As well, Up Here said it is looking to create a public list of potential walls for Up Here muralists and community artists “to encourage the independent creation of new murals all over the city.” If you want a wall on that list, fill out the form linked above and make sure to give the festival permission at the end of the survey.
Due to the high quantity of wall submissions, only successful wall owners will be notified.
Up Here cancelled its original festival programming due to the pandemic, but promised a “reimagined” event when it made the announcement back in May.
“Up Here 6 will still happen, just not the way we envisioned it. Up Here always promises the unexpected, but this year, exceptionally, everything is being reimagined. We may not be able to gather under the Dome, but one thing is for sure — we will still find ways to celebrate, create and make art together while apart.”
