Upfest launches British Sign Language (BSL) street art tour on YUUP

Upfest has launched a BSL Street Art Tour of Bedminster, guided by deaf artist Martin Glover and will take place on the 20 June at 10am. 

This tour is exclusively for deaf people, led by experienced deaf guide, Martin Glover. He will take to the streets of Bedminster to tell the stories of Upfest, the hidden meanings and history of the art of Europe’s largest street art festival. 

Upfest founder, Stephen Hayles, explains “At Upfest, inclusion is a huge part of our reason for creating the festival and at the heart of how we operate. To be able to make this tour available to the deaf community is incredible. We’re so lucky to have Martin as part of the team as an expert in BSL guided tours. It’s important that everyone gets the best experience possible and that everyone has the chance to experience street art to its maximum potential.”

Tickets for the tour cost £5 but thanks to funding from Arts Council England and DCMS, the tour will be initially free with the code UpfestBSL. 

Steve adds; “We’re so grateful to Arts Council England for the support they have given to Upfest in 2020 and 2021, and especially to help fund the start of this new BSL tour. Street art is embedded into Bristol’s culture, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring the deaf community more easily into what we do.”

Spaces on the tour are exclusive to British Sign Language users with the exception of a support person. 

The tour last approximately 2 hours and is available to book now through the Yuup website: https://www.yuup.co/experiences/upfest-bsl-guided-tour-by-martin-glover