RISEgallery in Croydon to run London’s largest International Urban Art festival

Over recent years, urban art has caught the imagination of people around the world and has grown its identity at an incredible rate, and this September Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison FRSA brings us the biggest International Urban Art festival to London.

Thanks to a public arts programme led by RISEgallery, the past four years have seen Croydon become a key destination for the art form, with an ever-expanding collection that remains the envy of other London boroughs.

RISEfestival, London's largest International Urban Art festival, will be taking place in Croydon from 5th to 15th September. Led by RISEgallery, this extraordinary 10 day event will be completely free, to encourage as many people as possible to get involved.

The festival will see the arrival of over 60 new murals and installations in and around the town centre from some of the world’s leading urban artists. These works will add even more colour to Croydon’s skyline and solidify the town’s reputation as one of Europe’s key destinations for street art.

Amongst the 75 artists taking part in the festival are; Dotmaster, Conor Harrington, BK Foxx, Doudou’Style, Phlegm, Lovepusher and Cityzen Kane.

In addition to the vast range of murals created by these artists, the festival will include a ground-breaking programme of free events from live music, workshops and walking tours to independent film screenings and a major block party with world renowned DJs. 

The RISEfestival event programme has been designed to help educate visitors about urban art in an interesting, enjoyable and engaging way. Highlights include the Official Urban Art Tour; one hour guided tours around Croydon which will run twice a day throughout the festival with lunchtime and early evening departures. A Graffiti Workshop, will enable guests to learn about the different styles of graffiti and the techniques used to create them before being given the opportunity to take to the streets and create their own masterpieces. A series of activities designed for children are being led by child art vlogger, Amaya. These include Amaya LIVE; a mini art conference for children, where they will learn more about the urban art world from big name artists.

For older visitors, the Graffiti Grannies workshop on Sunday 9^th will teach the over 60’s all they need to know to start a new career in street art! Workshops will consist of a quick history lesson about graffiti and some practice on paper before heading to the streets to showcase their new skills. The Global RISE of Urban Art, will see artists, curators and other super interesting folk, including Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison (Owner of RISEgallery) come together for an afternoon of panel discussions and a Q&A. The largest event during the RISEfestival will be a huge Block Party on Saturday 8^th. Run in partnership with FUNK ME parties, this evening event will see the closure of St Georges Walk as international DJs take over the block with a party that people will be talking about for years.

This will all be underpinned by an exclusive new exhibition at RISEgallery and a pop-up shop selling amazing and affordable art work.

With such a diverse programme of activities and events, RISEfestival will ensure art and cultural experiences are truly inclusive and available to all.

For more information, please visit this page.