#54 | Waterford Walls Street Art Festival
This week on Sparking Change, Dil brings us another episode from the sunny south-east, at this years’ Waterford Walls street art festival (more info here).
Waterford Walls is an international street art festival started by The Walls Project that transforms Waterford City into an open-air gallery. Waterford Walls invites over 50 artists again in 2018 to transform the city walls, continuing to make Waterford an essential cultural attraction and International go-to destination for street art. This year’s festival ran from August 17th – 26th, so unfortunately it is now over. But make sure to mark it in your calendar for next year!
In this episode, Dil talks to Edel Tobin, Louise Flynn and Joe Caslin.
Edel Tobin is the founder and project manager with Waterford Walls Project. In 2014, she founded New Street Gardens, a pop up garden built on a derelict site in the city. In 2017, she launched Patterns of Light: a lighting display along the Quay in Waterford. Dil and Edel discuss the progress the festival has made in just four years, with fifty artists and over two hundred applicants for this year’s festival.
Louise Flynn is a visual artist who works in Waterford and Kilkenny. She has curated many mural projects and artwork for festivals and exhibitions. She was recently invited to create a mural for Wynwood Embassy in Miami. It is this experience that drives her passion to see this art form transform Waterford City and capture the imagination of the community, as artists and people work together. Dil and Louise discuss the origins of the festival, the changing perception of street art, as well as street art’s ability to spark change. Check out Louise’s tattoos—she is a tattoo artist—here!
Joe Caslin is an illustrator, street artist and teacher. He is also responsible for some of the most talked-about and thought-provoking street art seen throughout the cities of Ireland. He has a piece in this year’s festival called ‘Consent’. Dil and Joe discuss Joe’s piece in the festival: his departure from the theme of mental health amongst men to the very relevant issue of consent, as well as the Save Nonso campaign he is also working with. Check out Joe’s Instagram to see his amazing work.
