If you’re old enough to remember when classrooms had chalkboards and chalk to use on them… then you’ll enjoy the 2022 Chalk Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Now in its 33rd year, the event has expanded to two days, Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11, rain or shine. The festival features sidewalk artistry by professional chalk artists and local community groups, families and individuals (you!) — all using the CMA’s south plaza and walkways that wind through the Fine Arts Garden and down to Wade Lagoon as a colorful canvas.
The Chalk Festival is a modern expression of a Renaissance tradition from 16th Century Italy in which beggars copied paintings of the Madonna by Raphael and his contemporaries using chalk on the plazas outside cathedrals. This year, Chalk Festival’s featured artists include Héctor Castellanos Lara, Wendy Mahon and Oliver C. St. Clair, and the community is invited to take part in a chalk-drawing masterpiece and make it come alive with color.
Squares and boxes of chalk are available for $10 with on-site, day-of registration (supplies limited). No advance reservations will be taken. The Chalk Festival is free to visitors wishing to enjoy the artists’ work and listen to live music in the garden.
Chalk workshops led by artists sharing some easy chalk art techniques are being offered at the CMA’s Community Arts Center (CAC) on Saturday, Sept, 3, from 10 a.m. – noon. Stop by a mini chalk party at the CAC on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3 and 4, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. The CAC is located at 2937 West 25th Street in Cleveland. Free parking is available in the adjacent lot on Castle Avenue. No advance reservations are needed. All art supplies and instruction will be provided free of charge.
Photo by David Brichford, courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
