Denver Chalk Arts Festival

May 27, 2011

Experience a centuries old art tradition in downtown Denver the first weekend in June, as Larimer Square transforms into an open air festival featuring over 200 professional, amateur, and student street pavement chalk artists. Visit this festival of color and creativity and watch artists recreate art masterpieces as well as original contemporary art, using chalk and handmade pastels. Spectators are amazed at the 3D chalk art that appears to rise out of the pavement.

This free, two day street fair brings back an almost forgotten art form that originated in Italy and was popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. Italian street painters would travel from town to town creating beautiful paintings in the streets to commemorate holy days and festivals. They survived on coins thrown to them by appreciative audiences. Traditional Italian street painters were called Madonnari, because originally they recreated images of the Madonna.

The Denver Chalk Art Festival features several professional Madonnari, as well as other artists who come out to create their first pavement chalk drawings. Artists create their street visions as performance art, with audience participation and viewing part of the experience. These ephemeral paintings will vanish with weather and street traffic, but that’s part of the appeal of the art.

The festival features six professional, award-winning madonnari, live music, a wine pavilion and the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design Youth Challenge, where groups of students compete for prizes. There is also a kids area where the little ones can create their own street masterpieces.

Saturday, June 4th, 10 am to 10 pm, Sunday June 5th, 10 am to 7pm, Larimer Square, downtown Denver.

This “Things to Do in Denver” tip is offered by Southeast Auto Body, your Denver collision repair shop, conveniently located in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

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