Mr Graff has been designed by Bristol’s much loved graffiti artist, CHEO in collaboration with Upfest and Mr Men Little Miss (MMLM), taking inspiration from the festival, which this year will take place on the 23^rd – 25^th July. The blue character can be spotted armed with a spray can and donning a baseball cap as he paints the city.

The character has been revealed today and will be sprayed live along with other favourite Mr Men Little Miss characters to create a giant mural during the three day festival with exclusive prints available to purchase. For those that can’t wait until July,  until the 17^th May.

Stephen Hayles, Upfest founder and gallery owner explains;

“We are very honoured to be collaborating with MMLM and Cheo to celebrate the 45^th anniversary with a Mr Graff character for Upfest 2016, it really shows how the festival and the different art disciplines are evolving.”

“The festival has grown significantly since the our humble beginnings in 2008 with just 50 artists and 500 visitors to more than 300 artists flocking to Bristol this July to share their art with the 30,000 expected visitors and now, Mr Graff!”

Sandrine de Raspide,  COO, Mr Men Ltd and Sanrio GmbH said:

“We are delighted to be collaborating with Upfest to celebrate our 45th anniversary and to introduce Mr. Graff.   Our playful and mischievous characters have brought fun and laughter to generations of families.  We love to bring our characters to life in different ways, to entertain our fans and it’s especially exciting to be working with Cheo in the UK’s home of graffiti and street art.”  

Cheo explains:

“It’s a privilege to have been asked by Upfest and MMLM to create Bristol’s very own Mr Graff. As a young kid, I remember seeing the name Roger Hargreaves, watching the Mr Men and Little Miss cartoons and reading the books along with every child that grew up in the 70s. As well as celebrating the 45^th anniversary, it’s also a great accomplishment for the street art and graffiti scene to work with MMLM in doing something so momentous.” 

Now in its eighth edition, Upfest has launched its second crowd funding campaign to raise £15,000 to help the festival team pay for the infrastructure to manage the 30,000 expected visitors this year. This will also enable the crew to give away additional materials to the festival’s 330 attending artists who support themselves with flights and accommodation over the duration of the festival.

This year’s artist roster will be the most diverse collection of urban artists in one location with more than 300 artists flocking to Bristol from 40 countries world-wide and as far-flung as Canada, Australia, Argentina and Israel adorning the walls and in some cases floors of south Bristol. The line-up includes 2016 festival artist Gemma Compton, city favourites, Inkie, Jody, Cheba & Cheo, the distinctive Spanish duo Pichi&Avo, the phenomenal Dutch 3D floor artist Leon Keer, non-conformist urban/stencil artist Fin DAC, the incredible anamorphic graffiti artist – Odeith, the Pioneer of Aerosol X-ray Art SHOK-1, Dutch abstract graffiti artist Mr June in search of the perfect form and London based artist Louis Masai who’s distinctive creations have been described as a form of environmental activism painting alongside 300 other artists.

To donate or grab an exclusive Mr Graff print visit www.fundsurfer.com/upfest.