A mural honouring the Irish Olympian, Rhasidat Adeleke, was unveiled in the heart of Waterford City. This piece of street art is just one of many revitalising the locality through a district art festival. The artworks cover a wide spectrum, from abstract expressions to imaginative representations of Celtic folklore, from spontaneous graffiti to hyperrealistic illustrations of famous figures.
The mural, a homage to Adeleke, situated on Jenkins Lane, came to life through the hands of the artist JEKS, normally situated in North Carolina. The creation was finalised in the course of Waterford Walls, the largest international street art festival in Ireland.
The event, designed by The Walls Project, is scheduled to conclude on the 18th of August and offers an array of food, music and live street art experiences. Adeleke, a 21-year-old Dublin native, narrowly missed the podium in her two events, the women’s 400m and the 4x400m relay. Despite landing in the fourth position in the individual competition, and despite the Irish team getting painfully close to securing bronze in the group contest – breaking a national record in the process – she has become an icon.
As the first Irish woman to reach the Olympic sprint finals, Adeleke has morphed into an inspiration for budding athletes all around Ireland. The Walls Project shared in a social media post, their pride in housing such an abundance of talent within their shores. They echoed that while the country is far from flawless, the progress made over the past two decades has been remarkable.
Adeleke, they argue, serves as a shining example of what makes contemporary Ireland unique. They hailed her representation of talent, determination, highest-level achievement, and diversity. They reiterated that Adeleke symbolises the version of Ireland that most of us aspire to live in. – PA