Colouring up the locality – Dublin canvas gives artists a chance to splash out
By Hayden Moore
After a hugely successful expansion into South Dublin County in 2018, Dublin Canvas is back with a bang this summer.
The inclusive Dublin Canvas project has given artists a chance to splash their local community with colour – now, this summer, 58 fresh utility boxes have been delegated for make-overs around the county.
Journey by Juliette O’Brien (Drimnagh)
Artists from around the county submit their ideas to Dublin Canvas and are picked based on how they have used the surrounding area as inspiration to create their piece.
Among those artists picked for their creative design ideas was Juliette O’Brien, who quite literally took the name of the place her box is located into consideration when designing the box.
Depicting some dolphins as the key aspect of the box, ‘Journey’ can be found on Dolphin Road/Herberton Road in Drimnagh.
Juliette also managed to get in another painting of a utility box in Lucan, with ‘After the Storm’ located just outside St Patrick’s Church.
After the Storm by Juliette O’Brien (Lucan)
In another nature-based one, Joanne Crowley has a social message to go along with her painting, with the colourful ‘Save the Bees’ located on Grange Road/Nutgrove Avenue.
Celebrating the diversity of the multi-cultural population in Lucan, a former Dublin Canvas artist from last year’s roll-out, Maureen Kelly-Fox, painted ‘Diversity’ on Newcastle Road/Adamstown.
Save the Bees, by Joanne Crowley (Grange Road/Nutgrove Ave)
On the Firhouse Road/Ballycullen Road in Knocklyon, graphic designer Aisling Grainger painted ‘Red Sun’, which depicts a woman, a sunset and some cool cactus.
Institute of Art, Design and Technology Dun Laoghaire graduate Shauna O’Reilly took inspiration from St Enda’s Park and Pádraig Pearse’s poem The Wayfarer for her box.
Diversity, by Maureen Kelly-Fox (Lucan)
Located on Whitechurch Road/Sarah Curran Avenue, the now rustic-coloured utility box sees greens, purples and the orange hue of a fox making up the painting.
