A Sea of Creativity

Bob Schloth
May 29, 2019
2 min read

What always seemed like a simple recess toy has been transformed into a tool for diligent professionals. That toy being sidewalk chalk and those professionals being full-time artists at the Sarasota Chalk Festival! We all remember using chalk to invent games in the elementary schoolyard at recess. At my school, there were the people who toiled on hands and knees for the meager 30 minutes we had outside to make the longest, most intricate hopscotch path. Then there were the four square players, who would chalk out four “symmetrical” squares and almost always end up arguing over which square the ball landed in for a good portion of recess. As it turns out, chalk art has been around for centuries and the largest chalk art installation in the entire world takes place in Florida.

The first chalk artists of written history are from 16th century Italy. These street artists were called the “Madonnari”, they travelled from town to town drawing on sidewalks with chalk, brick, charcoal, and colored stones as their medium, acting as sidekicks to street entertainers, known as “minstrels.” They were able to make a living by placing a basket beside their artwork and taking donations from bystanders. It wasn’t until 1980, when the International Street Painting Festival in Grazie de Curtatone, Italy, began, that chalk artists got the credit they deserved. Their art became a worldwide phenomenon, drawing crowds of amateur artists looking to learn the craft. Shortly after that, one of those pupils, Kurt Wenner, became the first American artist to join the Madonnari and he started incorporating three dimensional drawing techniques, now widely used every year.

Sarasota is a small town in Florida that has become synonymous with street art. Starting in 2007, Denise Kowal, president of the Burnes Square Property Owners Association, inaugurated the chalk festival as a celebration of community, culture, and commerce. The first event had only 22 artists, three of which had street painting experience, and attracted around 10,000 visitors over two days. Since those humble beginnings the festival has grown into a national sensation, by 2011 the festival was comprised of 250 artists, attracted approximately 200,000 visitors to downtown Sarasota, giving the local economy a boost of $6-$10 million! Every year the theme changes to inspire new artists and give the festival a fresh feel. Over the 12 years that the festival has been in existence the theme has gone from fun-loving, such as Halloween and Circus themed to more serious topics, such as honoring veterans and animals facing extinction. Though, they all share one thing in common, absolutely stunning works of anamorphic pavement art, and without further adieu, let’s take a look at some of these 3D masterpieces, all of which can be viewed at www.chalkfestival.org.

2009, theme: Goddess Flora