Sat 9/20 & Sun 9/21 @ noon-5PM
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Chalk Festival is one of the events founded by CMA’s former community arts director, the endless creative Robin VanLear, now an independent artist. She started it in 1990, inspired by an Italian Renaissance tradition where street artists made chalk copies of religious paintings on the plazas outside cathedrals and it’s continued each year since (it was even virtual in 2020!)
Each year, both professional artists and community members come to the plaza outside the museum’s south entrance and paths along the Fine Arts Garden and Lagoon to leave their creative markings on the pavement. This year’s featured professional artists are Jennifer Price, Mark Alexander Dawson, Nathalie Bermudez, Raymond Rodriguez and Sylvia Munodawafa. Community artists can be you, your family or your friends. Just purchase a square of pavement at the registration tent. It’s $15 for a small square which includes 12 pieces of chalk, or $20 for a large square and 24 pieces of chalk. All designs must be family friendly. Cats are very popular!