Weekend at Waterford walls

This weekend Waterford came alive with colour as derelict buildings became a canvas for some amazing art. Waterford Walls is a three day festival and this is the first time anything like this has happened in Ireland. It's a project that was a long time in the making and the central premise was to invite a number of prominent artists to paint something of their choosing, mostly run down or derelect buildings and the city has been transformed over the last three days as a result. My boyfriend has been talking about it for several months so I knew it was coming up but I don't think I really understood the full scale of it until I found myself wandering around the city streets trying to get a look at all the different pieces. There are twenty two pieces in total and there was also ; an art exhibition, live demonstrations, a talk by Louis Masai, music and food in New Street Gardens and an after hours club with live music in Phil Grimes. I can't say I saw everything but I certainly took in plenty over the weekend.

On Friday we popped down to the opening in Hive. We were a little late in the running as I had come from work but we got in time to take a look at some of the pieces on show in the gallery. Most of the pieces outdoors had yet to be completed but the work on the walls gave us a preview of some of what we were in for. We left Hive to go on down to Phil Grimes where Crome Yellow were playing followed by The Backroad Smokers Club. I was pretty wiped so I wasn't sure if I would be up for staying for the whole thing but in the end I was glad I did. I had heard Crome Yellow a few times now and they are a very talented bunch playing psychedelic rock, all original stuff. They play one number on a didgeridoo which is unusual in itself but what makes it all the more impressive is that the drummer still manages to play the drums while playing it. And they say men can't multitask.
They were followed by the Backroad Smokers club, a band I have heard a lot about but don't know why its taken me this long to hear them play live. They describe themselves as a mix of funk, rock and psychedelic but its like a really great mix of all three. I suddenly forgot how tired I was because I was too busy enjoying their music. 

Then Yesterday we took a look at some of the completed walls and the still in progress ones and then headed down to see Louis Masai give a talk on his work. He is an artist based in London who has become very well known in recent years for his street art of endangered animals. He uses his talent to raise public awareness of the many species of animals that are currently dying out. In a way that is quite a gloomy message but the art is beautiful and full of colour that you walk away from his pieces feeling uplifted. I should know as I visited his Hammerhead sharks piece about five times over the weekend. see below for a picture. He has been working in connection with different organisations that work to save endangered animals so his work raises awareness and then they are able to take action. As you can see from the photo (or in person if you are driving down Barrack Street) it draws you in and certainly makes you stop and think.

Today we just took a walking tour of the city with the map in hand and got to watch some of the artists at work which was pretty amazing. When we saw the level of intricate detail Louis Masai puts into his work you really begin to grasp how amazingly talented he is. From what I got to see a lot of the artists have different techniques. Some work freehand and have a clear picture of the image in their mind. Others use stencils for the outline and then fill in details, Joe Caslin had drawn his, uploaded it to his computer and printed it off and then it had to be pasted onto the wall like wall paper and if I hadn't see it happening I would have sworn it was painted on. see below.

And I saw another artist working on Stephen Street while holding a black and white photo of the woman he was painting but the photo was just an ordinary portrait and then the finished work turned out like this. 

The best part of the Waterford Walls initiative is that this isn't just for the weekend so if you haven't had the chance to view any of the art yet don't worry it will be up on the city walls for the year at least. It is possible if it runs again next year that some of this work may get painted over which is sad in a way but I am sure they will be replaced by work that is equally beautiful.