Festival Artist in-residence
Tobi Balogun
Over the festival’s duration, the selected artist Tobi Balogun will engage deeply—attending performances, meeting fellow makers, and participating in critical conversations—while also carving out space to reflect and develop their own practice. This residency is not about outcomes but about presence, dialogue, and exchange, offering a rare opportunity to exist within the festival ecosystem as both witness and creator.
Tobi Balogun
Oluwatobi is a Nigerian-Irish interdisciplinary artist whose work spans visual art, dance, film, and spoken word.. With roots in Carlow and a background in science, fashion, and hip-hop, Oluwatobi masterfully weaves together analytical precision and creative expression to explore the complexities of identity, history, and community. Drawing on the rich traditions of Yoruba culture, Afrofuturism and his irish upbringing, Oluwatobi’s art seeks to reimagine cultural narratives and craft new global perspectives. Through a dynamic fusion of street art, abstraction, and intricate visual/mixed-media techniques, his Ara series invites viewers to delve into cultural history through surreal, layered compositions that empower storytelling and challenge conventional perspectives.
Oluwatobi’s work is rooted in honoring African and Irish craftsmanship while transforming heritage into contemporary expressions. By centering clothing, accessories, and other mediums as vessels of cultural dialogue, he bridges the past with the future, encouraging audiences to question what is and imagine what could be. Through his boundary-pushing creative process, Oluwatobi captures the essence of modern culture and the African Irish journey, offering bold, transformative visions grounded in tradition and illuminated by the possibilities of tomorrow.