Up Here 11

Upon Refraction

What happens when we bend? When we encounter something unexpected and are sent in a new direction? The theme for Up Here 11 draws from the idea that a light wave behaves differently as it enters a new environment.

Like a beam of light refracted through a prism, Up Here shifts and adapts with its surroundings.

Every venue, every artist, and every participant becomes part of the medium, bouncing through different spaces and experiences. What emerges is not one story but a spectrum of them, each unique, vivid, and vital.

Upon Refraction is about bending without breaking, changing without losing what makes us whole. It’s about rediscovering ourselves and the spaces we pass through, reflecting on how our encounters shape who we become. How does art refract through the lens of time, memory, and community? How do artists reimagine their work to fit new venues, new contexts, and new audiences?

Up Here 11 takes its cue from the refractive process—nimble, intimate, and multifaceted. This year, we will invite audiences more than ever to choose their own adventure. With simultaneous activations and immersive experiences spread across downtown Sudbury, we’re scattering light through every corner of the city, illuminating new dimensions of both familiar and undiscovered spaces.

The theme is meant to serve as a loose inspiration for artists submitting mural and installation projects. Take it literally, figuratively, or wherever it leads you—or completely set it aside if you just have a cool project to propose. It’s not a rigid path but a guiding principle—a lens through which to explore, reimagine, and shape artistic choices while leaving room for spontaneity and discovery. Artists are invited to bend the rules, bounce ideas off one another, and show us what happens after refraction. 

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 the presentation of underrepresented genres and to the curation of pieces of contemporary public art. We are looking for musical projects, muralists, and immersive installation artists to help shape the festival experience.

Up Here stands in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. We encourage all our settler friends to join us in the continuous learning, adapting, sharing, supporting, and fighting required to end systemic racism in this country and move toward true reconciliation.

Up Here takes place on the traditional lands of the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in N'Swakamok, also known as Sudbury, which includes the traditional lands of the Wahnapitae First Nation. We pay tribute to all First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples who are the caretakers of the past, present, and future of this land.

Submit before 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, February 24, 2025.

All submissions are reviewed based on artistic discipline by the Up Here Programming Committees. The evaluation process is based on artistic merit, the timing of latest releases, the pertinence of the project with this year's theme (less relevant for musical projects), and pairing with other artists in the lineup. Submissions can be submitted in English or in French. 

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

“Life is not light,
but refracted color.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Inspiring and Interesting Videos

Bill Nye on Light Optics

An artist installation by Dan Goods and David Delgado on the beauty of light intersecting with waves of water

Refraction explained.

How do we see, how do we experience, what are the limits of my own seeing?

Rare Atmospheric Optical Phenomena Ranked

What the frak!

Brilliant Podcast Episodes

Colors - Radiolab - Radiolab rips the rainbow a new one.

Mirror, mirror - Curious Cases - What is the shiniest thing in the world slash universe?

Rainbows: Delighting humanity since forever - Stuff You Should Know - Rainbows seem to defy nature, but they're really pretty simple when it comes down to it.

“Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.”

— Albert Camus

Enlightening Links

Refraction - Wikipedia

Refraction - The Physics Hypertextbook - Refractions, mirages, halos, rainbows, Snell’s Law and other sciency things properly explained

Resilience, community, and other lessons I’ve learned from my plants - A neat article by a badass biologist on what we can learn from plants about bending and not breaking

The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells - Chapter 19 riffs on about refraction and glass

Mirage - Wikipedia

Dispersion (optics) - Wikipedia

What are light pillars?

Reversing Arrow - A fun experiment demonstrating refraction from the Institute of Physics

Trying, but so often failing to bend toward the light - An art installation by Hamilton artist Natalie Hunter

“Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses – learn how to see. Realize that everything connects you to everything else.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

Transforming spaces with wonder.

Here are potential spaces for art installations.

Up Here transforms unique venues and temporary urban spaces into immersive artistic experiences.

We collaborate with installation artists to find compelling settings that showcase their work in unexpected ways. While not a requirement, we encourage artists to consider how their projects can interact with and enhance the festival’s existing spaces and infrastructure.

Stunning immersive installation by Kristina Rolander at the Townehouse Tavern during Up Here 4.

The Festival Stages

We love having visual artists to turn our stages into immersive experiences for both artists and festival-goers. Our festival stages are more than performance spaces—they’re canvases ready to be transformed.

We invite artists to reimagine these spaces as immersive environments, enhancing the experience for both performers and spectators.

Porta-Potty Party Portal installed by Studio Nude Beach presented in Le Crac in 2023.

Le Crac

Tucked between two buildings on Durham Street, Le Crac is a hidden gem of the festival—an ever-evolving space where discovery and surprise collide. Over the years, festival-goers have entered through a secret porta-potty portal, stepping into an intimate alleyway that shapeshifts into a pop-up bar, a DJ haven, a hub for artists and industry insiders. A cornerstone of Up Here’s immersive magic, Le Crac is a space for unexpected encounters and creative reinvention.

Artists are invited to submit projects that push the boundaries of this unique setting, turning its narrow walls into an experience that captivates and delights.

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 digital projections, for hung installations and for some of the festival’s most memorable musical 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

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.

Past Themes