A free family-friendly street culture and art festival is coming to Birmingham

A popular Birmingham street culture and art festival is taking place this month to showcase arts and dance performances, including workshops, with some of the best street food in the Midlands on offer throughout the day.

The High-Vis Festival is coming to Digbeth for its fifth year (on Saturday 24th September) with a major spotlight on female artists.

The annual festival is an energetic and vibrant extravaganza which brings together artists, dancers, creatives and designers from around the city – and further afield – to delight attendees with a plethora of events and workshops.

The High-Vis Street Culture Festival will showcase dance, art, skateboarding and graffiti workshops

This year’s festival will include over 30 artists, with the focus being placed on providing a platform for female street and graffiti artists from across the city and beyond.

The lineup features reknowned artists such as Annatomix (who painted the much-loved David Bowie tribute in Southside), Zooki, Void (who painted a powerful anti-war poster at The Custard Factory), Tempo33, Title, and many more.

The organisers of the festival have an ethos to inspire the youth towards positive arts related projects which will unlock potential and bring people together under a shared outlook.

A work-in-progress picture of Annatomix’s art at The Custard Factory, created during the High-Vis Festival in 2018

The free public event, which is attended by thousands of people each year, is co-founded by graffiti artist Panda (David Brown) who owns a shop called graffitiartist.com at The Custard Factory.

Panda also undertakes community projects and charity events in the hope of dispelling any fears or negative stereotypes held by certain sectors of society about street art culture.

He works with youth groups to encourage youngsters to participate and engage with the world around them by using their artistic skills in a positive and fruitful direction. He emphasises painting for pleasure and unleashing hidden creativity.

The popular street culture and art festival is now in its 5th year — The popular street culture and art festival is now in its fifth year

Panda took time out from his busy schedule to thank the sponsors of this year’s event.

He said: “High-Vis Festival prides itself on being a celebration of street art that’s for artists, by artists. Thanks to The Big Fang Collective’s generous sponsorship this year’s festival is able to go ahead.

“The Big Fang Collective have really spoken to the community at roots level and understand the importance of supporting local graffiti artists and the wider creative community.

“They have a different way of doing things, which isn’t just about making money and this really shows thanks to the work they are doing with the festival.”

During the festival lots of sanctioned walls around Digbeth are brightened up with new art

Euan Stubbs, from the Big Fang Collective, said: “We’re excited to be able to support High-Vis Festival for the second time.

“Here at The Big Fang Collective, we wanted to give something back to the Digbeth area and support a community based collective that aligns with our core values whilst also investing in creativity at its grassroots.

“Across each of our sites, we’ve worked with local graffiti and street artists to authentically bring the venue to life, so collaborating with High-Vis Festival felt like the perfect match.”

The festival will feature breakdancing competitions

The festival celebrates urban arts and culture and will feature a highly anticipated skateboard competition (run by Red Bull) and a thrilling breakdancing competition (run by Hold Your Ground).

Initial preparations are already underway ahead of the main festival as various high-profile creatives are commissioned to brighten up sanctioned walls around the city with the aim of delighting and engaging with the public.

The iconic Birmingham 2022 “Raging Bull”, which premiered at the Commonwealth Games, was recently painted on a wall in the Ladywood area of the city to tie-in with the High-Vis Festival.

The Birmingham Bull is immortalised in a new mural by tattooist Tokes — The Birmingham 2022 Bull is immortalised in a new mural by tattooist Tokes

The one-day urban festival is uniquely bringing together street artists and urban music talent in Birmingham’s street art hub, Digbeth.

This year’s open-air event will take place at Digbeth’s Tea Works, just a stone’s throw away from Typhoo House, which is set to become BBC Midlands’ new broadcast centre in 2026.

High-Vis Festival is open to the public (with free entry) on 24th September from 12 noon to 11pm.