Street art festival with UK’s largest artist lineup set to transform Leicester next week
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 18 May 2024
UPDATED: 22 May 2024
The highly anticipated Bring The Paint festival will transform Leicester's streets from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th May 2024, turning the city centre into one of the world’s most impressive open-air galleries.
- Watch artists paint 30+ new street art murals in Leicester city centre next week and weekend
- As well as live art, there will also be workshops, events, exhibitions, tours, skateboarding, BMX and more for all to enjoy for free
- The festival started in 2017 and will feature artists from across the globe, turning Leicester into one of the largest open-air galleries in the world
This year's event marks the fourth instalment of the award-winning festival, which has the UK's largest lineup of street artists. As well as showcasing artworks from national and local creatives, the festival will include international artists from all over the world, including Canada, Australia, and Brazil.
Since its inception in 2017, Bring The Paint has dramatically reinvented Leicester's visual landscape. The city now has a growing reputation for eye-catching street art murals which can be spotted all over the city centre.
Over seven days, thousands of visitors will flock to Leicester to witness the creation of over thirty impressive murals across the city. As well as seeing the creation of these impressive permanent pieces of street art, audiences can get involved with a programme of events. Highlights include:
- Workshops: Engage with street art through hands-on workshops designed for all ages, including poetry workshops, zine making, upcycling spray cans and a street art photo walk.
- Tours: Take in the whole festival with a tour, hop on to a guided bicycle ‘90s Rave Ride’, enjoy a more sedate walking tour with opportunities to meet the artists.
- Events: Enjoy a full day of music at the LCB depot, including Out of Joint Records takeover for full day of music on the Music Licence stage, an acoustic stage, sound system and more.
- Family-friendly activities: Lots of fun for all the family, including a family fun day at The Mill, spray painting, face painting, and Pedestrian’s DJ skills drop in, and the Red Bull Skate Park with DJ Truck on Jubilee Square
- Exhibitions: There are several exhibitions for art lovers to pop along to, including Glass on Glass x Lightwerk at Phoenix Cinema, Paint to Pixel x Repainting Subway Art at Leicester Museum & Gallery, and lots more.
There will be four main festival sites, where you can pick up a map and get exploring the festival:
- The Mill by Graffwerk (Frog Island): General info point and paint shop
- Haymarket: General info point and workshop hub
- Jubilee Square: Red Bull Skatepark
- LCB Depot: The Music Licence Stage
For those keen to get involved in creating street art themselves, several legal graffiti sites across the city can be used by anyone to paint, including walls along the canal, St. Margaret’s Underpass, Friday Street and more. Graffiti on any other surface than these sites is illegal and could result in prosecution.
Bring The Paint 2024 is supported by Arts Council England, BID Leicester, Leicester City Council, De Montfort University, PPL PRS Ltd, Platform Housing, Jake & Nayns, and Mills Nutrients. This year's festival, inspired by Leicester’s identity as one of the most diverse cities in Europe, continues the theme of collaboration, bringing together artists from across the world to re-imagine this vibrant destination.
Don’t miss out on the chance to witness this spectacular event first-hand. For more information about the festival, including the full lineup, map, and list of mural locations, visit www.bringthepaint.co.uk.
Quotes from organisers, partners, and sponsors:
Artistic Director of Bring The Paint, Izzy Peacock said:
“We are incredibly excited to stage Bring The Paint for the fourth time in Leicester. Our world-class line-up speaks for itself, and we are proud to be working with such an incredible selection of artists. The festival is set to be one of the biggest street art events in the UK this year.”
Leicester City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby:
“Leicester hosted the first Bring the Paint event in 2017, and the amazing results of that can still be seen in the city centre today. I’m delighted that the city council is sponsoring Graffwerk to bring the event here once again this May and look forward to welcoming world-class street artists from around the globe to our city.”
BID Leicester Director, Simon Jenner:
“BID Leicester is thrilled to be supporting Bring the Paint 2024, building on the event's past success. The festival has an international reach, helping to put Leicester on the map as a cultural destination and showcasing the city’s creative spirit. Our businesses will benefit from increased visitors to the city centre, and the festival’s legacy of vibrant and colourful artwork will continue to make Leicester a more attractive place for residents and regular city centre users.”
Managing Director PPL PRS Ltd, Andrea Gray:
“We are thrilled to be supporting this year’s Bring the Paint festival here in Leicester, and even more delighted that we are sponsoring a piece of work by one of the talented artists who showcase their work around the streets of the city. Being able to support creative arts locally is really important to us, and we can’t wait to see all the fantastic artwork and creative work that the festival will bring.”
Head of Engagement and Partnerships at DMU Leicester, Fi Donovan:
“I am thrilled that DMU is once again supporting Bring the Paint Street Art Festival. This dynamic event not only showcases Leicester's incredible creative talent but also fosters inclusivity and pride in the city. A commitment to student experience and on-campus community engagement is at the core of our support, providing a unique platform for students to actively participate and contribute to the vibrant cultural fabric of Leicester. We are excited to collaborate on this festival that elevates our city's cultural landscape to an international level.”
Internationally acclaimed artist, INKIE:
“The strongest lineup of any event in the UK, Bring The Paint is raising the bar yet again.”
