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Founded in 2012 and incorporated in 2015, We Live Up Here Urban Arts is an urban arts organisation in Sudbury, Ontario formed around the idea that art can inspire, transform and help build a better community. Originally created by Christian Pelletier and Andrew Knapp with the purpose of creating a collaborative photography book celebrating Sudbury’s urban culture, We Live Up Here, the book, launched in December 2012 and immediately sold out. The organization has since grown and expanded their output to include the Up Here Festival (UHF), an independent urban art & emerging music festival that launched in 2015. Every summer, Up Here brings together dozens of muralists, musicians and installation artists to transform downtown Sudbury into an urban art gallery.

This application is for “Up Here 10”, the 10th Anniversary edition of the Up Here Festival, taking place in the heart of Sudbury August 15 to 18, 2024. Celebrating 10 years of innovative music and art presentation, “Up Here 10” will feature a unique interweaving an Anglophone, Francophone, Indigenous, Black, POC’s & LGBTQ2AI+ perspectives into its programming. Up Here will curate muralists, installation artists and host 50+ musical acts in 14+ indoor/outdoor venues throughout the downtown core including surprise concerts announced through the festival app minutes before the event and our coveted Mystery Tour, adding dashes of spontaneity and magic to the festival experience. Up Here utilizes a multi-venue format, focusing on a large innovatively curated outdoor space in downtown Sudbury that encourages a casual free flow of people. The 14+ partner venues are densely located in Sudbury’s downtown, encouraging all festival-goers and tourists to eat, drink and stay downtown. Programming is both paid and free and includes:

(1) six new large-scale murals + six mini-murals through the Power Up program with an expanded platform for installation works that invite festival-goers to interact, play, and encounter a new sense of place through digital projection and immersive spaces. Up Here 10 will curate local, national, and international artists;

(2) Up Here Guided Mural Tour, is a walking experience providing participants ‘the skinny’ on the artists, works, and the public art scene in Sudbury and covers 25+ massive works, exploring back alleys, installations and Power Up boxes. Multiple Guided Tours are scheduled throughout the festival, with self-guided mural tours available through our Up Here app all year round;

(3) UP Here Square: Up Here converts Durham St in downtown Sudbury into an urban playground with performance spaces, pop-up bar, DJ booth, art installations & more. With the festival's signature 3-story geodesic dome at the center, the Square is a space to grab a bite, cheer drinks, dance, catch pop-up performances, Family Day programming, and start a mural tour;

(4) Up Here 10 music program: Up Here 10 will engage in a multi-venue indoor/outdoor format with the Square as the festival anchor and the activation of 14+ partner venues/spaces. 2024 will see a return to full music programming with duelling concerts presented across festival venues totalling 50+ shows over four days. Organizers are currently in conversations with Feist, Charlotte Cardin and Voïvod, Karkwa, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, CRi, Alix Fernz, La Sécurité & more. Artists from Northern Ontario represent an important part of programming with City of Lakes Music Society, Ronin, & White Hot being considered among others;

(5) Pop-Up shows: a key part of the Festival experience, presenting artists in alternative spaces at a moment’s notice. Using notifications through Up Here’s mobile app, audiences have a half hour to head to a walkable location for a free surprise show;

(6) The Mystery Tour: a unique experience as artists perform in unexpected spaces across the city. Up Here will activate a bus to pick up Mystery Tour ticket holders for a one-of-a- kind festival experience. All festival-goers will receive a notification on the Up Here app divulging the mystery venue inviting all to ‘follow the bus’ and join at no cost;

(7) Panel discussions; and

(8) Artist talks.