Urban Fest

We all love a festival… right? It seems that the art of festivals has gripped the UK with pretty much every patch of land across the counties being occupied by tents, stages and traffic jams and becoming a firm fixture in the British summer calendar. And in a testament to the creativity and ingenuity of the entertainment sector, there are festival offerings to meet every cultural whim and taste.

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Such has been the success of these events, that Local Authorities have zoomed in on the action. Supported by the expertise of the private sector – most cities will now stage their own music and cultural festivals. And the array is staggering: from the grandmother of all street parties (Notting Hill Gate Carnival) to the sprawling vibrancy of the Celtic Connections city wide festival in Glasgow.

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Indeed street art has more than contributed to the UK’s canon of cultural delights with successful annual urban art festivals like Bristol’s Upfest (Europe's largest Street Art & Graffiti festival) and the more recent Nuart Festival in Aberdeen – a major instrument in redefining and re-inventing the Granite City.

Sunderland too has its share of successful Food & Drink and popular winter Light Festivals. In 2024, it decided to take advantage of SPF2 cultural placemaking funding from the Government’s Levelling up agenda to launch UrbanFest - a two-day celebration of Urban Cultural Activities. Spearheaded by Sunderland Business Improvement District (BID) and located in Sunniside, a deprived inner-city neighbourhood that has been earmarked for improvement. The aim was to attract footfall from across the city to this neighbourhood, alleviate anti-social behaviour and animate the area for residents and visitors alike.

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Following extensive consultation with the residents and communities in the area, the plans for Urban-Fest were shaped with the aim of engaging young people and focussing their inclusion with health, wellbeing and participation whilst also bring a sense of placemaking and pride back to the neighbourhood. Art of Protest had the honour of shaping and curating the urban cultural offering of the festival and also in delivering spray paint workshops to over 750 eager participants – that’s a lot of spray paint! It was a fantastic occasion with many local traders and major businesses pitching into support the event.