PHOTOGRAPHS PUBLISHED 10 AUGUST 2025
As I had the opportunity to photograph the artist in action on the Monday I decided to revisit on the last day of my visit to the city to see the completed work and to gauge local opinion. I got to speak with many people and most were really excited to have such a work of art in their area. The 2017 mural by Sonny Sundancer, titled “Electric Fury,” on Newgate Street, was widely described in the articles found as a “standout” and “unmissable” piece.
However, my introduction to the festival was not without incident. Upon leaving my hotel, I photographed a large mural by an artist named Arcy. Almost immediately, a man stopped me, placing his hand on my camera lens and accusing me of supporting “anti-social behaviour” by photographing street art. He was eating greasy food, and the incident left large streaks on my wide-angle lens. Unfortunately, I later discovered that his hand must have had something sharp in it, as the damage was more severe than I first thought. Upon returning to Dublin, I had to take the lens to a camera dealer for repair.
I also found navigating the festival a challenge. The available maps were unhelpful, and I struggled to locate and identify many of the murals. This meant I often wandered the streets at random, which is how I stumbled upon Sonny Sundancer’s piece. Even today, I continue my efforts to identify and locate many of the earlier murals. Also, the weather was really bad to the extent that I spent about 50% of my visit in my hotel room as my equipment was not weather proof.
The Vision and Inception: Reclaiming Public Space
The Waterford Walls festival was conceived as a direct response to a challenging period in the city’s history. In the mid-2010s, Waterford was grappling with the profound effects of an economic downturn. The city centre was described as having a “depressed” and “hopeless” atmosphere, marked by vacant factories, boarded-up shops, and empty office blocks. This decline was exacerbated by new motorways and the rise of out-of-town shopping centres, which drew commercial activity and footfall away from the city centre, leaving it feeling like a “ghost town.”
Co-founder Edel Tobin expressed frustration with this situation, noting that property owners seemed disconnected from the visual decline of their own buildings. The festival was born from a desire to turn this negativity into a positive force, transforming the city’s symbols of failure into a vibrant canvas for art. The goal was to encourage people to “lift” their eyes from the ground and reconnect with their urban environment.
The 2016 festival was a significant expansion of the previous year’s project, growing into a city-wide cultural movement. Over 40 artists participated, transforming 40 walls across Waterford City and, for the first time, extending to the nearby town of Tramore. The festival’s ethos, as articulated by Tobin, was to “re-energise, re-imagine and re-claim the shared public space” of Waterford.
A key factor in the festival’s success was its progressive operational model. Unlike other mural festivals that are limited to a single designated area, Waterford Walls was granted “access to an entire city.” This wide-ranging permission demonstrated a “mutual trust” between the festival team and the local council, allowing for the “fantastical and progressive idea of handing the entire city over to a group of artists.” This collaborative, grassroots approach was central to the festival’s success, transforming Waterford into a dynamic, living gallery.
Public Reaction: Enthusiasm Meets Apprehension
In the lead-up to the 2016 festival, public discourse was a mix of excitement and debate. The event received widespread, positive media attention, including an RTE “Supporting the Arts” video broadcast on primetime television. Rugby pundit Brent Pope was named a brand ambassador, urging locals to “get behind the Waterford Walls” and “embrace the whole idea.”
However, not everyone was enthusiastic. Some held a more traditional viewpoint on the role of art in public spaces. One online commenter argued that all art “should be inside galleries,” advocating for a city that is “grey and uniform” and using the hashtag “#notonmystreets.” This conservative stance was quickly challenged by others who argued that “the world is a gallery.” This debate highlighted a broader societal tension between those who wanted to preserve a familiar past and those who embraced a forward-looking, expressive vision for the city.
Challenges and Issues of the 2016 Festival
While the festival was largely celebrated, its execution was not without challenges. One issue was a “tension between artistic freedom and community consensus.” Some business owners felt there was a “lack of consultation” and called for “more respect for businesses,” suggesting that the engagement process did not reach all stakeholders equally.
Aesthetic choices also became a point of contention. A local councillor publicly criticised a mural, calling it “dreary and depressing.” While research indicates this criticism was aimed at a different mural from a previous year’s festival (specifically, a piece on the former Xtravision premises in Tramore), it speaks to the ongoing challenge of achieving universal aesthetic consensus.
The festival also faced practical issues. The weather proved to be a persistent obstacle, with it “raining almost every day,” which made it difficult for artists, particularly those from warmer climates, to work. Additionally, a local blogger noted that the festival’s official map was unhelpful for locating some artists, a logistical issue that may have hindered the public’s ability to fully experience the art trail.
The Aftermath: A Transformed City
The public’s reaction to the completed murals of the 2016 festival was overwhelmingly positive. The art was described in blog posts and online comments as “beautiful,” “spectacular,” and “amazing.” Many felt that the art “made such a difference” and brought “so much joy to this town.”
The art was seen as more than a cosmetic improvement; it became a source of renewed civic pride. The festival was credited with giving residents a reason to “look inward again” at their city, creating a new “sense of place.” A remarkable testament to this newfound respect was the fact that murals from the previous year had been largely undamaged or defaced. This challenged the old notion of street art as vandalism, demonstrating the community’s ownership of the artwork.
The murals also carried powerful social messages that resonated deeply with the community. Joe Caslin’s mural, entitled Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine (‘we live protected under each other’s shadow’), raised awareness of mental health. This strategic use of a prominent, abandoned landmark made the art a vehicle for a broader social dialogue. Louis Masai’s wildlife murals similarly brought global environmental issues to a local level, ensuring the art fostered a deeper emotional and intellectual connection with the community.
Conclusion
The 2016 Waterford Walls festival was a pivotal moment in the city’s cultural and socio-economic recovery. While it faced legitimate challenges, these were ultimately overshadowed by its success in revitalising the urban environment and fostering a profound sense of civic pride. The festival’s true achievement lay in its ability to transform the city’s narrative. It took the most visible symbols of Waterford’s post-recession decline—its derelict and forgotten walls—and reframed them as a canvas for new, vibrant expressions of community, hope, and identity.
This journey serves as a powerful case study in cultural urbanism. The festival’s success was not built on a large budget but on a progressive vision, a collaborative spirit, and an intuitive understanding of the profound social and psychological power of public art. By inviting artists to engage with the city’s physical spaces and by encouraging the community to take ownership of the creative process, the festival was able to successfully “reinstate civic pride” and reposition Waterford as a dynamic cultural hub.
