ELEMENTS: STREET ART FESTIVAL

Elements: Street Art Festival took place in August 2024, bringing an injection of art into the Ouseburn, transforming a once overlooked space, into an outdoor gallery of vibrant artworks.

The festival brought together a unique line up of talented mural, graffiti and street artists from around the North East, plus one invited guest, to work their magic on the wall space around the Woods Pottery site in the Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Over the course of a weekend, the festival brought community and creativity together, with a selection of additional offerings including: Nowt Special art market, artist workshops, delicious street food by the amazing Scranners Arms and other refreshments.

As well as the main event, we also developed 5 different community outreach projects in the surrounding areas of Shieldfield, St. Anne's and Byker. We worked with local groups and charities to provide community art projects which aimed to connect local people into the festival, whilst providing creative opportunities.

ELEMENTS was organised by local artist Mark One87 and Building Culture, with support from Project North East. Our collaborative approach sees us working with and supported by a host of local organisations, artists and community groups to create a high impact, colourful and energetic event, with year round legacy.

SHOWCASING CREATIVE TALENT

The main festival weekend took place on 3rd & 4th August 2024 and saw 18 talented artists take to the stage for a weekend of live painting, creative activites and all round good vibes.

With a Gable end feature piece from Bournemouth based artist Ricky Also (Owner of Paint Shop Studio), alongside an array of different styles of artwork, produced by local artists such as Mr Zee, Prefab77, Mul, Bobzilla, Cack Handed Kid, Creative Ginger and more, we brought a whole load of colour to the Ouseburn in a few short days.

The first edition of ELEMENTS brought together local artists, community groups, businesses and visitors in the Ouseburn through Newcastle's first public street art festival.

CONNECTING CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY

Outside the main festival event, we made friends with lots of organisations in the surrounding area, working with a variety of community groups and charities, we provided a range of creative projects to engage local people in creative activities and build community involvement.

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WILD ROOTS COMMUNITY GARDEN

Wild Roots are a volunteer led community garden project, situated on the edge of the festival site. They have transformed an empty piece of land into an ever growing community garden and we worked with them to create a nature inspired mural for the outer edge of the garden.

ELEMENTS x KARBON HOMES

We teamed up with Karbon Homes and the Byker Community Trust to deliver a two part project on the Byker Estate. Working with Foundation Futures and Byker Primary School, we created and installed two pieces of street art, designed and created by young people living and going to school on the estate.

NOCCIOLA THE DRAWER
x FOUNDATION FUTURES

Hazel Oakes AKA Nocciola The Drawer worked with Foundation Futures to develop design ideas for a welcome sign on the estate. The ideas created by the group were then developed into a colourful illustration in Hazel's vibrant trademark style.

MARK ONE87 x BYKER PRIMARY & FOUNDATION FUTURES

Mark worked with both groups to design and paint artwork which we installed on the Northern Stage rehearsal studio on the Byker Estate. The aim of the project was to give young people a chance to leave their mark in their community in a creative way, whilst promoting a positive message about the place they live.

SHIELDFIELD YOUTH PROGRAMME

Mark One87 worked with the Shieldfield Youth Programme, who are based in the New Bridge Project.
After an initial canvas art session to introduce the project and festival to the group, they then had the chance to create a mural with Mark at the festival site before the main event. Their artwork was on display throughout the weekend and provided an opportunity for local young people to get involved with the event, in a hands on way, experiencing the creative process

FOUNDATION FUTURES
BYKER REAL

Mark One87 worked with Foundation Futures detached youth group, to engage them with creative workshops, working on canvas with paint markers and eventually spray paints, learning skills which they later applied to painting the organisations minibus which was in need of some love.

The main festival event was attended by over 3k people
We provided opportunities for 34 artists and creatives
Showcased a wide variety of talented local artists
Facilitated a total of 5 community outreach projects
Provided opportunities for local residents
Transformed the space into an outdoor gallery
Brought people together through art and creativity

"It was amazing to see the collaboration of all types of artists work . Plus the merchandise you could buy. Also the art workshops for everyone. The food vendors looking after everyone. All in all a fantastic day."

"Lovely to see live artworks being made in public. A great set up of spaces for kids to get involved in making art. All the events staff on the entrance were super helpful. More of this kind of event!"

“Loved that the organisers reached out to get the local community involved not only on the weekend of the event but also in the lead up providing workshops. Also the workshops were brilliant, really engaging!.”

“Watching the art come together. Lush vibe. Strangers coming together and chatting about what they see. It was just nice to feel a sense of community and inclusion during a hard time for the country.”

“Street art can be used to bring people together in the community and make a derelict looking space more colourful and aesthetically pleasant to be in. It was also good to celebrate art in a city environment outside a gallery.”