Ruth Medjber has been photographing since the age of three after being gifted a pink plastic camera by her parents. While in her honours year of a Bachelor of Arts (Photography) at Dublin Institute of Technology, Medjber regularly contributed to music magazines such as NME, Hot Press and Rolling Stone and subsequently became Ireland’s foremost contemporary live music and portrait photographer. Medjber’s music portfolio spans decades and includes all of the greats such as Grace Jones, Beyonce, Leonard Cohen, Metallica and the Foo Fighters. Most recently she has been documenting Hozier on his world tour, as well as covering the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC. In 2020, when the music industry was paused by covid19, Medjber began taking portraits of people at home through their windows in a series titled "Twilight Together". This body of work, now published as a best-selling book by Penguin, became one of the most iconic portrait series of our time. You can find Ruth’s column in the Independent Newspaper each week and see her photographic work regularly exhibited in galleries such as Photo Museum Ireland.

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Des Carey began his film career as an apprentice to George Lucas and has spent more than three decades working at the forefront of feature film and television production and technology. An accomplished entertainment technology and production executive, Des has worked with many of the industry’s most influential filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Brian De Palma, Oliver Stone, Michael Bay, Gore Verbinski, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, J.J. Abrams and Robert Zemeckis. His expertise spans Physical Production, Virtual Production, Visual Effects, Animation, Script Development, Budget Analysis, Tax Incentives and Post-Production. He has designed and produced the digital finishing of more than 100 major Hollywood feature films, his credits include “Blade Runner 2049”, “The Star Wars Trilogy – Special Edition”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Watchmen”, “Mission: Impossible 3”, “Quantum of Solace” and “John Wick”. While at Lucasfilm, Des was a pioneering figure in the development of what became known as the Digital Intermediate process, helping establish a workflow that transformed modern feature film and television production. In 2012, Des was named one of the “Hollywood 50,” recognizing the entertainment industry’s most influential technology innovators.

A Singaporean-Irish illustrator and muralist based in Dublin, Ireland, Holly Pereira creates bold, colourful work that transforms spaces and invites people to engage with their environment. Working across murals, illustration, lettering and animation, her practice is rooted in a fascination with colour, form, typography, and the ways visual language can shape how we experience a place. Her work brings energy and character to walls across Ireland and internationally, often using large-scale colour and graphic forms to create environments that feel playful, welcoming and alive. Lettering and typography often sit at the heart of her illustration practice. By combining words with imagery, she creates work that communicates with clarity and impact—using language not simply as text, but as a visual form in its own right. Pereira studied Fine Art and Animation in Dublin, developing a practice that moves fluidly between the static and the moving, the personal and the public. She is also a proud member of The Minaw Collective, an Ireland-based collective of muralists, street artists and graffiti artists. Photo Credit: Ruth Mejdber

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Ray O’Donoghue is Dublin City’s Night-Time Economy Advisor, leading work to support and develop a safer, more diverse and culturally vibrant city after dark. Since taking up the role in 2024, he has led the development of Dublin’s first Night-Time Economy Strategy and worked across culture, music, hospitality, transport, public safety and city planning. His work includes initiatives such as Dublin by Dusk, Dublin Nights and the city’s Help Zone, alongside supporting hundreds of cultural events and projects across Dublin. Ray has spent his working life in and around Ireland’s creative and cultural sectors, beginning as an actor before going on to work as a musician, DJ, promoter and record-label owner. He later spent 13 years as Festival Director of Sea Sessions Surf & Music Festival. That experience — from creating and promoting culture to shaping city policy — now informs his work exploring how creativity and innovative thinking can influence cities and how people experience them after dark.

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Dagogo Hart is a Nigerian-Irish writer, director, poet and performer working across theatre, film and live performance. His work is rooted in character-led storytelling and often explores masculinity, migration, grief, faith, family and Black Irish identity. He is the co-founder of WeAreGriot and co-founder of Belema Art House, an independent production company developing original theatre, film and live experiences. Recent work includes MUSTER at Dublin Fringe Festival, Mmanwu, the short film GNIB, and PALMFIST, developed with Arts Council support. Alongside his artistic practice, Dagogo has extensive experience in participatory arts and creative facilitation, working with young people and communities across Ireland through schools, festivals, arts organisations and community partners.

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  Aoife Barry is a writer, freelance arts journalist and weekly columnist for the Sunday Times. Her 2023 book on social media, Social Capital (HarperCollins Ireland) was nominated for an Irish Book Award. She has had bylines across various publications including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, Tatler, The Journal and Irish Examiner. She features regularly on RTÉ Radio One and Today FM and her essays and fiction have been published by ROPES journal and Banshee, and broadcast on Sunday Miscellany. Alongside fellow journalist Lauren Murphy she co-presents the arts and culture podcast Get Around To It. 

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Will Sliney is an Irish comic book artist and television presenter who began his career in comic books before moving into show creation and directing. He spent over a decade working as an artist for Marvel Comics, contributing to titles such as Spider-Man 2099, The Amazing Spider-Man, Fearless Defenders, and various Star Wars projects. Sliney now creates, hosts, and directs art-focused children's TV programs and animations. His original creator-owned comic series, The Shrouded College was optioned by Seth McFarlane's Fuzzy Door for Universal.

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Catherine Martin served in the Irish government as Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media from 2020 to 2025, during which time she led and delivered significant reforms to how the arts in Ireland were supported and funded. She introduced the groundbreaking Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme and secured and delivered funding to many other innovative initiatives that placed creators’ wellbeing, pay and sustainability at the centre of cultural policy. Catherine is the former Deputy Leader of the Green Party in Ireland and was their lead negotiator in the Programme for Government talks in 2020. She has recently been appointed as Head of Policy, Ireland with The Ivors Academy where she intends to focus on increasing protection, empowerment and celebration of songwriters and composers across the island of Ireland. Catherine is also an Arts Strategic Consultant advising arts organisations on strategy, positioning and funding. Photo Credit: Louise Haywood Schiefer

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