New mural called 'The Wonder of Travel' unveiled at Cork Airport
Kenneth Fox
A new mural titled “The Wonder of Travel” has been revealed at Cork Airport
Designed, curated and painted by Ardú Street Art, the new mural takes inspiration from Cork Airport’s past, and captures the joy and wonder and awe of flight and travel.
Ardú Street Art, Cork’s contemporary street art project, is known for the many iconic murals and designs around Cork city centre.
Official unveiling performed by Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, in the presence of Cork Airport MD, Niall MacCarthy; founder members of Ardú Street Art and invited guests.
The mural represents a bright, new addition to the Cork Airport campus for the next 10 years and was funded by the Cork Airport Community Fund which promote arts, culture, education, tourism and sports throughout the region.
The mural was designed, curated and painted by artists Shane O’Driscoll and Peter Martin of the Ardú Street Art project.
Spanning over 180 square meters on the southern facade of the multi-storey car park, “The Wonder of Travel” is a bright splash of colour, distinctive in the style of its curators.
It paints a narrative of the history of travel at Cork Airport, contrasting its simplistic early origins with the modern era of flight and captures the awe and inspiration that travel and aviation provides to the younger generations.
The Ardú Street Art Project is the brainchild of visual artist and designer Shane O’Driscoll, muralist, stained-glass artist, and secondary school teacher Peter Martin, along with Paul Gleeson, organiser of the annual Cork Graffiti Jam and project managed by Rose-Anne Kidney of Goldiefish Events.
Performing the official unveiling of the mural, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, Lord Mayor of Cork said: “It is a pleasure to perform the official unveiling of Ardú Street Art Project's latest creation ‘The Wonder of Travel’ at Cork Airport.
While the mural captures the wonder and awe of air travel amongst younger generations, it certainly resonates with all ages as it shows the importance of air travel and international connectivity on our island nation.
"Industry, commerce and tourism all stand to benefit from good air connectivity and Cork Airport plays an important role in the Cork economy by strengthening those connections. I wish to commend the work of Peter Martin and Shane O'Driscoll in creating this marvellous mural, all made possible thanks to Cork Airport's Community Fund."
"Collaborating as creators, curators and painters of the mural, Shane O'Driscoll and Peter Martin of Ardú Street Art Project said: “The artwork is a celebration of the history of air travel through Cork Airport since 1961 and looks at its bright future and development in the years to come.
"This mural hopes to explore the excitement and endless possibilities that air travel brings to the people of Cork and further afield. We’re delighted with the end product and know that passengers will enjoy the mural.”
