Ardú Street Art and Pat McDonnell Paints shortlisted for 2023 Business to Arts Awards

ARDÚ Street Art Ltd and Pat McDonnell Paints have been shortlisted for the Business to Arts Awards, in the Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice category for ‘Ardú Street Art Project’.

The Business to Arts Awards recognise excellence in creative partnerships, where a business, philanthropic organisation, or individual has supported the arts in an outstanding or compelling way.

The awards feature a range of categories that celebrate arts sponsorship, commissioning, philanthropy, staff engagement programmes, corporate social responsibility, access programmes, and creative community initiatives.

Rose-Anne Kidney, Project Manager of Ardú said they are ‘delighted’ to have been shortlisted. 

“Ardú is delighted to have been shortlisted in the Jim McNaughton Perpetual Award for Best Commissioning Practice category." 

"We are a proud team who have enjoyed curating an ambitious catalogue of striking artworks throughout Cork City since 2020 and look forward to continuing this work with the support of Pat Mc Donnell Paints in Cork.” 

Bernadette Boyle, Pat McDonnell Paints added: 

“We are proud to be in a position to play a part sharing in, and supporting, the Ardú vision of transforming previously anonymous corners of Cork City into truly memorable encounters.” 

 Ardú was born in Leeside in October 2020, originally bringing seven of Ireland’s most renowned street artists - Deirdre Breen, Maser, James Earley, Peter Martin, Shane O’Driscoll, Aches, and Garreth Joyce to create large-scale murals at key Cork city-centre locations.

The event returned in 2021 with four more walls unveiled by Shane O’Malley, Friz, Conor Harrington, and Asbestos. It returned once again in 2022, with artists Claire Prouvost, Kitsune Jolene, and VENTS137.

These fourteen inspiring pieces of work dotted across the city add greatly to the cultural landscape of the city centre.

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, and organiser of the annual Cork Graffiti Jam, Paul Gleeson.

Project managed by Rose-Anne Kidney of Goldiefish Events and made possible with generous support from Cork City Council and Creative Ireland.

The Business to Arts Awards will take place on Tuesday, September 12 in the National Concert Hall, Dublin.