The walls of Waterford have come alive with a newly-launched app!
Seven years after its inception, the transformative mural artwork of the Waterford Walls Festival is virtual as part of the Brightening Air | Coiscéim Coiligh Festival.
The free downloadable 'BEPART' app allows users to point their phone's camera at a selection of the city's murals and see the artwork begin to move.
The mural artwork has been animated by second and third level students from St Pauls Community College Waterford and Limerick School of Art and Design. The participants, working alongside The Walls Project team and Italian non-profit BEPART facilitated the transformation of the local public street artworks into augmented realities.
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Edel Tobin, Founder and Artistic Director of The Walls Project said:
“We are delighted to have engaged with these communities to aid them in transforming Ireland’s largest and most accessible outdoor gallery, the Waterford Walls. Our festival’s urban art is now conveniently available for free on any smartphone. It’s an exciting expansion and positive development for our own festival and city. To have our collaboration showcased as part of the Brightening Air Festival facilitates an engaging new way of accessing art from anywhere. The students went above and beyond in utilising their skillset to create a really fantastic animated art app”.
This project was advanced through funding from the Arts Council ‘Arts Grants Funding Award for Educational Outreach’ 2020/2021.
Ben Dolan, Comms officer with The Walls Project commented:
“Bringing art to the public in a new and engaging way and experimenting to extend the possibilities of public art are the cornerstones of this outreach partnership. Through collaboration the students have made street art relevant and accessible in real life and online”.
You can now download the bepart free smartphone app via the App store and Play store, via the Waterford Walls QR codes on every mural in the city, or by going to linktr.ee/WaterfordWalls
