A mural taking shape for Acomb Fest. Picture: Art of Protest
ACOMB is hosting AcombFest, York’s first international street art festival for York, from today to Sunday featuring 20 art installations, live mural painting, RARE Collective’s PaintJam and spray battles, plus 30 bands, DJs and performers, across 22 venues.
Look out too at this Return To Nature-themed festival for special events and tastings, community cinema, family-friendly interactive workshops, art market, Acomb history walks and talk, plus shopping opportunities in support of independent businesses.
Featuring more than 90 activities and events, AcombFest is the creative brainchild of Art of Protest, Jeff Clark’s York-based street and urban art business “dedicated to transforming cities, towns and communities one spray can at a time in artist-led, community-shaped and stakeholder-driven projects”.
Funded by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund, Great Acomb Community Forum and City of York Council and supported by York St John University and York School of Art, AcombFest presents a long weekend of highly visual and participatory events.
The centrepiece will be the painting of four large-scale murals in and around Front Street by renowned international artists. This work will be complemented by a further ten art installation paints featuring York artists with community collaborations, alongside a range of workshops, music and cultural happenings.
“Nothing of this scale will have been seen in York before, never mind in Acomb” says Jeff, Art of Protest creative director and lead curator of AcombFest.
Jeff Clark: Art of Protest creative director and lead curator of AcombFest
“Normally, activities of this scale would be confined to the city centre, but this event is a fantastic example of how to broaden out creative and cultural engagement to the people in the wider city and wards.
“Not only does this inject life into local high streets to make them more vibrant and sustainable, it also does the same for the communities themselves.”
Jeff continues: “The ambition for AcombFest is to be a bi-annual event attracting the best international, national and more local artists from across the region to really put Acomb on the map as ‘the creative quarter’ of York.
“This is something that has been much needed as a way of balancing the city’s reliance on its fantastic heritage. Not only that, it will act as an inspiration and a pathway for young creative people in the Acomb and surrounding communities to develop their skills and start their own creative journeys – hopefully into related jobs and industries.”
The mural artist headliners will be Australian superstar SMUG, known as “the world’s best photorealistic artist”; Sheffield muralist Peachzz, 2024 runner-up for Best Mural in the World; wildlife artist Curtis Hylton and Acomb returnee Sledone.
Only one magpie? Phew, luckily a second is being added to this mural at AcombFest. Picture: Art of Protest
Creative events and activities will be centred on Front Street with free street art workshops. Venues include Bluebird Bakery, SoJo, The Crooked Tap and all the way down Acomb Road to The Fox, connecting all the green spaces and parks.
Each venue will have its own bespoke offer – from bush craft and nature art to artist talks – with individual tickets, availability information and listings to be found on the AcombFest website at https://acombfest.co.uk/.
RARE Collective are putting on DJs and nine artists will be showcasing their skills in live spray battles at the Carlton Tavern. The community cinema will run at Acomb Explore library and spoken word events at Book & Bevs.
A full programme of family-friendly free activities will run at Acomb Methodist Church; That Acomb Arty Thing will play host to an artist market; the Gateway Church will present art exhibitions; Fishponds Wood will run mini-beast trails. Further attractions will be history tours, light installations in Holgate Windmill and pop-up stalls with Yorkshire Wildlife and York Civic Trust.
Specialist food and drink offerings throughout the festival will include Spirit of Yorkshire and an international mixologist.
The festival was shaped by speaking to more than 1,100 residents and nine schools to learn of Acomb’s rich tapestry of history, flora and wildlife, leading to the festival theme of returning to nature. Acomb Alive and Acomb Methodist Church have supported the event too, the church playing host to music therapy sessions, flower arranging with Acomb Flower Guild, drop-in crafts with Crafty Fox and an art fair with Acomb Artists.
The festival map for AcombFest
What’s On at AcombFest
Friday, July 3
Explore Library
9:30am – 12:30pm
Mosaic Workshop
10am & 1pm
Hidden History Walk
Gateway Centre
10am – 6:30pm
Oak Room Art Exhibition and Art Workshops – Exhibitions & creative workshops curated by That Acomb Art Thing.
The Carlton Tavern
2pm – 5:30pm
PaintJam – RARE Collective & Art of Protest setting up PaintJam ready for artists, DJs & mixologist
7pm – 9pm
Live World Cup Mega-Screen
Acomb Front Street
3pm – 4pm
Art of Protest Street Art Workshops
The Fox
3:30pm – 6pm
Water Art – After-school fun! Join the Fox team in a free-for-all floor art event
4pm – 9pm
Clucking Oinks Fried Chicken
6pm – 8pm
Tri-Starss – Beer garden gig of 1970s-1990s rock
DJ Sola: Leading a bill of live music, dancing and craft beer at The Crooked Tap
The Crooked Tap
All weekend
RARE Collective Urban Art Exhibition
4pm – 10:30pm
DJ Sola & Friends – Live music, craft beer and dancing
6pm – 9pm
Philly’s Woodfired Pizza – Neapolitan wood-fired pizza
SOJO
5:30pm – 8:30pm
Yorkshire Beer & Cheese Tasting – Celebration of Yorkshire produce
8:30pm – 11pm
Live bands – Local bands performing live sets
Bluebird Bakery/Rise
6pm – 7:45pm
AcombFest Talks – Curator Jeff Clark and muralists discuss AcombFest (Whisky-Highball on arrival, tickets required)
7:45pm – 8:30pm
Whisky Tasting – Spirit of Yorkshire + Tulum Spirits (tickets required)
8:30pm – 10:30pm
Flour Power Sound System with Yeastie Boy – Live music (tickets required)
The Hand
8pm – 9:30pm
Josh Pulleyn – Live music
Inn on the Green
8:30pm – 11pm
Live music – Local bands performing live sets
Saturday, July 4
York pianist Karl Mullen: PIaying outside the bakery at Rise@Bluebird Bakery from 1pm to 3pm
Bluebird Bakery/Rise
9am – 12pm
Wild Bee Flowers – Sustainable florist & flower farm
10am – 3pm
Fresh Bakes – Bluebird’s fresh bakes & goodies
1pm – 3pm
Karl Mullen Live Piano – Busker extraordinaire playing outside bakery
All day
Craft Beer and Speciality Cans – Fridges of craft beers & small brewery cans in regular rotation
7pm – 11pm
Groovetone + The Unknown Stuntman – Jazz, blues, Latin, funk and Ska tunes (tickets required)
The Place
10am – 12pm
Leo Morrey Art Workshops
12:30pm – 2pm
Drummers
12pm – 4pm
Stephen Hodgkins Art Workshops
West Bank Park
10am – 3pm
Trapeze classes
Holgate Windmill
10am – 3:30pm
Wind, Soil, Rock Art Installation – Video, sound and life-size puppet
The Carlton Tavern
10am – 6pm
PaintJam – Watch nine artists begin their paints
10am – 10pm
RARE Collective DJs + Audiovisual – Eclectic mix of DJs and audio visual producers for PaintJam. Decks will be pumping out tunes while the paint dries
10am – 10pm
Tulum Spirits Collective – Flying in from Mexico, mixologist Craig Feather serves up menu of luxury bespoke cocktails from 11am, preceded by non-alcoholic delights from 10am
11am – 8pm
Streetfood
The Crooked Tap
All weekend
RARE Collective Urban Art Exhibition
10:30am – 12pm
The Art of Kokodema Workshop – tickets required
12pm – 8pm
Yuzu East Asian Street Food
12pm – 1:30pm
Charlie Swainton – Live music
2pm – 3:30pm
Amy & Rob – Live music
4pm – 5:30pm
Craig Long – Live music
6pm – 7:30pm
James Scanlan – Live music
8pm – 10pm
Melting Pot – 90s’ Indie, Britpop & dance tribute
Acomb Methodist Church
10:30am – 2pm
Bloom Baby – Fiona Price Baby Classes
11am – 2pm
Music Therapy
12pm – 1pm
Jazzy J’s – Live music
12:30pm – 6pm
Cafe
1pm – 2pm
Ten Thousand Pairs of Hands – Live music
1:30pm – 4:30pm
Acomb Flower Guild – Adult & Child Workshops
3pm – 3:30pm
Acomb Choir
3:45pm – 8:45pm
Acomb Community Cinema
Explore Library
11am – 3pm
Acomb History Group
4pm – 7pm
Open Cinema: Hoppers – Cinema with popcorn (tickets required)
Acomb Front Street
11am – 3pm
Art of Protest Street Art Workshops
Storyteller Lara McClure
Books & Bevs
12:30pm – 3:30pm
Storytelling with Lara McClure
Fishpond Woods
2pm – 3:30pm
Mini Beast Safari
The Fox
12pm – 8:30pm
Posca Doodle Wall
12pm – 9pm
Clucking Oinks Fried Chicken
2pm – 4pm
The Mothers – Live music
4pm – 6pm
Ten Thousand Pairs Of Hands – Live music
6pm – 8pm
Steam Pigeon – Live music
6pm – 8:30pm
Beermat Art Lost Property Collage
Inn on the Green
2pm – 11pm
Open Mic Night
The Sun
3:30pm – 5pm
BBQ
4pm – 8pm
Fireball Rockband
The Hand
8:30pm – 11pm
Pete Hale – Live music
Sunday, July 5
Fishpond Woods
10am – 11am
Moth Reveal
Acomb Methodist Church
10am – 12pm
Interactive Worship
12pm – 6pm
Pop-Up Cafe
1pm – 4:30pm
Crafty Fox Kids Club – Hands-on art & craft activities for two to four-year-olds
1pm – 4pm
Bio-Diversity Collage – Reacting to ecological crisis
6pm – 8pm
Art Speedquiz
West Bank Park
10am – 3pm
Trapeze classes
Freida Nipples: Baps’N’Bingo at Rise@Bluebird Bakery
Bluebird Bakery/Rise
10am – 3pm
Bluebird’s Sunday Ritual – Sunday specialties such as Bengali five-spice rolls, spinach & chickpea rolls, plus artisan pastries.
6pm – 8pm
Baps’N’Bingo – Burlesque bingo with Dolly Trolly and Freida Nipples (tickets required)
8pm – 11pm
Guilty Pleasures Disco – Closing party of pop bangers, disco, R&B & power ballads (tickets required)
Holgate Windmill
10am – 4pm
Wind, Soil, Rock Art Installation – Video, sound and life-size puppet
The Crooked Tap
All weekend
RARE Collective Urban Art Exhibition
10:30am – 12pm
Posca Pebble Art
12pm – 8pm
Yuzu East Asian Street Food
12:30pm – 5:30pm
Acomb Artists’ Kids Art Classes
12:30pm – 11pm
Cask Ale Festival
6pm – 10:30pm
AcombFest Closing Party – DJ Sola & Friends of RARE Collective
The Fox
12pm – 4pm
Bush Craft and Nature Art – Session with Tom Rawson of Branch Out
12pm – 9pm
Clucking Oinks Fried Chicken
2pm – 4pm
Bare Brass Band – Live music
4pm – 6pm
V2 – Live music
Inn on the Green
12pm – 5pm
Sunday Roast – OMNI Darts challenge & simulators
The Carlton Tavern
1pm – 6pm
PaintJam – Artwork continues
10am – 10pm
RARE DJ Sets – Live music
10am – 5pm
Tulum Spirits Collective – Flying in from Mexico, mixologist Craig Feather serves up luxury bespoke cocktails from 11am, preceded by non-alcoholic delights from 10am
11am – 8pm
El Chappo – New takes on traditional Mexican from Sheffield, ahead of Mexico v England in the World Cup last 16
12pm – 3:30pm
The Tavern Sunday Roast – Traditional roasts
9pm – 11pm
Live World Cup Mega-Screen
Gateway Church
2pm – 4pm
Little Green Fingers – Plant up container pot to take home
The Sun
4pm – 7pm
BBQ
4pm – 7pm
York Turnpike Trust – Five-piece band’sR&B covers
The Hand
5:30pm – 9pm
The Dunwells – Leeds indie-folk/Americana band
The Dunwells: Plating at The Hand on Sunday