Sunday, 17th October, 3pm
Venue: TBA
Since 2019, Ballina Fringe Festival has been teaming up with professional street artists and community groups to create high-quality street art in the town centre. To date, we’ve worked with Friz, Maser and this year, Canvaz, a Dublin-based artist with roots in North Mayo will be adding to what is now becoming a vibrant street art trail. Maser will also return to complete a piece of pandemic-postponed work from 2020.
To celebrate the launch of 2021’s works by Canvaz, we’re launching a self-guided street art tour that will include these works, and some other great street arts works in the town created by members of Ballina Community Cleanup Group.
#PureBallina is proudly sponsored by Topline Archers Ballina and Dulux Ireland.
About Canvaz
Canvaz is a street artist and muralist based in Dublin, with strong family connections to Killala and North Mayo. He comes to Ballina to create a unique street artwork as part of the #PureBallina project, and to collaborate with St Augustine’s Community Nursing Unit and the Jackie Clarke Collection on the theme of the Past for a community street art wall.
Painting large pieces since the early 2000s, his work has been included in several exhibitions and books worldwide. Canvaz has painted several largescale pieces across Europe, including at Urban Nation, Berlin (the largest street art museum in Europe) and Upfest, Bristol (the largest street art festival in Europe).
As the curator of Dublin Contemporary street art project (2011) Canvaz led the change in the culture of the acceptance to the masses of street art as an important part of Irish culture introducing to a wider audience street works by Conor Harrington, Maser, D*face and DMC to name a few.
About Maser
Maser truly embodies the centric spirit of contemporary visual art in Ireland today. Having created artwork since 1995, over the last 25 years, Maser has earned much respect professionally and has generated a large and dedicated following both in Ireland and Internationally – through his seamlessly imaginative and unique graphic style.
Maser’s unique, artistic style draws upon numerous influences including optical and mid-century art, and his paintings are regularly complemented with bold colours, pattern and text. He is ambitious and is unafraid to experiment with any artistic format. Through his use of contrasting colours and flowing patterns, Maser’s work offers the viewer an opportunity to become fully immersed in an almost hypnotic state.
Maser boasts an impressive list of exhibitions and has created work for Lazarides (UK), National Gallery of Ireland(IE), National Library of Ireland(IE), Tandem Press(USA) and Graphic Print Studio(IE). He even collaborated with the president of Ireland Michael D Higgins on a series of bespoke limited edition prints!
Most recently, Maser was invited to create an immersive large scale 3D installation for the prestigious Art on Paper art fair in New York, 2020. The installation was the centrepiece of the fair and gained much public exposure. And in 2019, he was invited to represent Irish Culture on an International level as an ‘official’ trailblazer of Culture Night 2019.
In addition to his artistic practice, in 2018, Maser established Atelier Maser a creative studio and gallery space located in the heart of Dublin city, in Ireland. The space is dedicated to emerging visual artists and boasts an exciting programme of exhibitions. Alongside its unique exhibition programme, Atelier Maser also hosts regular wellness events, such as meditation and yoga – to promote wellbeing and learning within the Irish urban landscape.
Maser, one of Ireland’s leading street artists, will arrive back west this October to collaborate with Foroige Ballina’s Neighbourhood Project to celebrate the theme of ‘Place’ (our 2020 festival theme) by creating iconic street art. MASER created his street art piece during Ballina Fringe Festival 2020, on Hill St. Ballina.
At the time, Maser said: “The concept for my mural at Ballina Fringe Festival is to approach the theme of ‘The Place’ in a considered and abstract way. It will be especially designed to be inclusive to locals and visitors alike, encouraging positive engagement and discourse by people from all walks of life.
Taking my point of departure from the North Mayo phrase ‘it’s not just a place to visit, but a place where you feel alive’, my ambition is to capture the vibrant energy of Ballina town with my signature style of street art.
