Meet Anna Moloney

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Anna Moloney again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Anna, always such a pleasure connecting with you and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and inspiring messages with our community. We’re looking forward to getting the download and what you have been up to since our last interview, but first can you briefly introduce yourself to folks who might have missed the prior conversation.
I’m Anna, I’m a multi-disciplinary artist from county Meath in Ireland. My practice involves drawing, photography, collage and storytelling with a recent expansion into costuming. My work weaves together the natural and the supernatural, the real and the surreal, to create fantastical narratives inspired by local folklore and the natural landscape.

My practice, as it is today, really started in 2020, when I spent a lot of time exploring my local bog lands and became completely enthralled with the idea of the bog being an access point to the Otherworld. Around this time, my work was mostly drawing based.
Since then, my work has continued to be centred around folklore and storytelling traditions however, I have introduced other disciplines into my practice.

What are the highlights of my journey? Well I think that’s has been finding my artistic voice and trusting my decisions.
The way I make art now is pretty different to my training (in ceramic design and digital animation) but I think it’s so important to learn lots of different skill sets and you can pull whatever your favourite little nuggets are from each one.

Great, so let’s jump into an update on what you have been up to since we last spoke. What can you share with us?
Since our last interview, I’ve been learning sewing and costuming, which took me to Rio de Janeiro this winter. There, I worked on carnival costume preparation for two samba schools, Vila Isabel and Unidos de Padre Miguel. It was an incredible experience, allowing me to see firsthand how storytelling is woven into Carnival through large-scale, dazzling costumes.

In October, I also completed my first artist residency in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland—an otherworldly landscape worth looking up if you’re unfamiliar with it. My research focused on how portrayals of women in folklore have evolved over time, often diverging significantly from their original representations. I’m particularly interested in the cultural significance of these changes, their impact on personal identity, and how storytelling is shaped by the perspective and lived experience of the storyteller.

Right now, I’m traveling in Argentina after my time in Brazil, and I’m excited to return to Ireland to apply everything I’ve learned to my art. I’m especially looking forward to continuing the work I started during my residency in The Burren.

We have now arrived at one of our favorite parts of the interview – the lightning round. We’ll ask you a few quick questions to give us all some fun insights about you.

Favorite Movie: Cabaret (but really it’s the Lord of the Rings Trilogy)

Favorite Book: The Artist’s Way

Favorite TV Show: Ru Paul’s Drag Race

Favorite Band or Artist: I have a lot of artists that I love! Enya is one who I can listen to no matter what mood I’m in.

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Mountains

Favorite Sport (to watch): Rugby

Favorite Sport (to play): Pilates

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): Tennis, Gaelic football, hurling, swimming

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: An astronaut

French Fries or Onion Rings: Onion rings

Favorite Cartoon growing up: The Simpsons or Pokémon

Favorite Childhood movie: The Secret Garden

Favorite Breakfast Food: Sausages

Life is often about tough choices – can you talk to us about your thought process, strategy or philosophy when it comes to making difficult choices or tradeoffs.
When it comes to tough decisions, I believe that if something keeps occupying your mind and you keep coming back to it, that’s a pretty strong sign that you should just go for it.

Instagram: @annymolo