Urban artist KWEST will create a large-scale, site-specific installation with Manitoulin Island-based artist One KWE as part of the fifth-anniversary edition of Up Here festival, which runs Aug. 16-18 in downtown Sudbury.
Sudbury’s urban art and music festival is also announcing over a dozen new emerging musical acts that will perform alongside the 15 artists announced earlier this spring.
Up Here 5 will present three days of concerts by more than 40 of some of the brightest up-and-coming artists, curate the live creation of new murals by artists (to be announced shortly!), and transform public spaces with immersive art installations.
The Dome, an ephemeral urban park on Durham Street, will feature local DJs all weekend long, and remain free all weekend.
Immersive art installations
The large-scale immersive art installations that have been an integral part of Up Here since its foundation will grow this year thanks to the support of the McEwen School of Architecture.
Notorious graffiti sculptor KWEST will create a three-dimensional installation in collaboration with Manitoulin Island-based sculptor One KWE.
KWEST (Brian Leitch) is a pioneer in the fusion of graffiti and sculpture and has a unique ability to create site-specific installations, which maintain relevance to the location while emphasizing contemporary aesthetics.
One KWE (Kathryn Corbiere) is an Ojibwe artist and welder from M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island and has been making her mark in metal, art, furniture, and fabrication on Manitoulin and the North Shore since 2014. This project is made possible thanks to Surface Art and the Ontario Arts Council.
Other art installations include Delineate by new media artist Daniel Freder, (re)experience by McEwen School of Architecture students Hamza Adenali and Anastasia Renaud, stunning immersive environments by Kristina Rolander, and more.
Even more emerging music
Up Here curates an ambitious musical program in line with the event’s signature spirit of curiosity and discovery. Fifteen new musical acts will join the previously announced artists.
Some of the newest additions include the bewitching fantasy pop of Lydia Ainsworth, '70s proto-punk legends Simply Saucer, the haunting melodies of Jennifer Holub, the highly anticipated return of poet-punks FET.NAT, the Boston garage-punk gurus The Monsieurs, the noisy-rock power-trio Nuage Flou, the primal rhythmic skronk of Andy California, a hot stream of punk from Sudbury’s Piss Face, the swoon rock of Vancouver’s Alexandria Maillot, and the Windows 95 dance party vibes of Nuisance.
The RBC Northern Series
The RBC Northern Series is back this year offering free concerts by emerging musicians from Northern Ontario in small downtown venues every day of the festival between 5 and 7 p.m.
Artists include dreamy electro-folk songstress Cindy Doire (Timmins), indie-pop group Kutch (Thunder Bay), electronic soundscape artist Ziibiwan (Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation on Manitoulin Island), folk singer Brooke Bruce (Sudbury), and Juno award-winning Greyson Gritt (Noëlville).
Individual tickets available now
Individual tickets went on sale at noon on Wednesday, June 19 at UpHere.com. Regular passports are also on sale for $110.
