Up Here 7

Levo

Levo is “lift” in Latin. It's raising each other up, it's taking up today's challenges, just as one rises up after a damned good fall. It's a sunrise after a wild night, it's the flight of kites, paper airplanes, and bubbles. It's our theme for Up Here 7.

With the ongoing pandemic, we still aren’t sure exactly what this summer will look like but we do know that whatever we end up doing, we want it to lift us up.

The theme is meant to serve as a loose inspiration for artists submitting mural and installation projects to the festival. Take it literally, take it figuratively, take it wherever it takes you (or completely ignore it if you just have a really cool project you want to propose).

Up Here festival, a laboratory of possibilities

Up Here is a multi-venue music and urban art festival with a focus on exciting and provocative emerging artists. We are dedicated to presenting underrepresented genres, and to curating contemporary pieces of public art. We are looking for musical projects, muralists and installation artists to help shape the festival experience.

Submit before midnight on March 21st, 2021.

All submissions are reviewed by artistic discipline by the Up Here Programming Committees. Evaluations are based on artistic merit, the timing of latest releases, the pertinence of the project with this year's theme (slightly less relevant for musical projects) and pairing with other artists in the lineup.

We receive over 500 artist submissions every year. All submissions will be reviewed but due to the high volume, only successful applicants will be contacted.

 
“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
— Leonardo Da Vinci

Inspiration

 
 

In his research, Bell had become obsessed with the idea of creating a kite large enough to carry a man.

On August 20th, 1970 the 8th Deadliest Tornado in Canadian history touched down in Lively Ontario Canada and left its path of destruction there and through Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.

In this whimsical TED Talk and live demo, scientist Li Wei Tan shares the secrets of bubbles.

 

Homelessness has been more visible throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the groups providing these residents with necessities is called the Encampment Support Network. Many of the volunteers are artists and musicians who want to use their free time in a meaningful way.

 

Uplifting one another also means uplifting the voices of marginalized folks. “Activism can’t begin and end with a hashtag” - Holiday Phillips

In September 1986, the city of Cleveland attempted to set a special record: the simultaneous launch of 1.5 million balloons. What could go wrong?

Were the Ancient Egyptians the First to Develop the Technology for Flight?

 

Blurring the line between science and art, Tomás Saraceno exhibits a series of air-inspired sculptures and installations designed to usher in a new era of sustainability, the "Aerocene."

 

In this TED Talk, Saul Griffith unveils an invention he has been working on: giant kite turbines that create surprising amounts of clean, renewable energy.

We've all dreamed of flying -- but for Richard Browning, flight is an obsession.

X Prize founder Peter Diamandis talks about how he helped Stephen Hawking fulfill his dream of going to space

 
 
“The tetrahedral principle enables us to construct out of light materials solid frameworks of almost any desired form, and the resulting structures are admirably adapted for the support of aero-surfaces of any desired kind, size, or shape.”
— Alexander Graham Bell, 1903
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
— Newton's 3rd law of motion
 
 

Potential Presentation Spaces for Art Installations

Up Here makes use of specific venues and temporary infrastructure on the street.

We work with installation artists to find interesting and fitting spaces to showcase their work. Although it is not a requirement for submitting a project, installation artists are invited to think about how their project could be integrated within specific festival infrastructure.

The Dome prior to a pop-up show during the festival

The Dome prior to a pop-up show during the festival

The Dome

Up Here’s signature geodesic dome is a central piece of the festival experience. A freestanding 35-foot tall structure, the Dome is used as a venue to present pop-up shows, dance parties and all-around good times.

Since 2016, it has been used as a canvas for projections, for hung installations and for memorable performances.

Artists are invited to consult the Dome Construction Manual and submit projects that can be installed in the Dome.

The shipping container during the festival setup on Durham Street.

The shipping container during the festival setup on Durham Street.

The Shipping Container

This large metal 20 ft rectangle sits on Durham Street during the event. It’s a party in a box that acts as storage for the festival throughout the year and is moved to the street during the festival setup. The standard container is 20 ft long by 8 ft wide by 8 ft 6 in tall.

Artists are invited to submit projects that play with and integrate the container.