35th Annual Chalk Festival, September 14–15, at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland (August 19, 2024)—Artists of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in the 2024 Chalk Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) on Saturday, September 14, and Sunday, September 15, noon to 5:00 p.m., rain or shine. This annual event, started in 1990, features sidewalk artistry by professional chalk artists and local community groups, families, and individuals, making the CMA’s south plaza and walkways through the Fine Arts Garden and Wade Lagoon come alive with color.

The Chalk Festival is a modern expression of a Renaissance tradition from 16th-century Italy in which artists copied paintings of the Madonna by Raphael and his contemporaries using chalk on the plazas outside cathedrals. This year’s Chalk Festival features artists John G., Ke Gray, Danté Rodriguez, Lacy Talley, Rafael Valdivieso, and a selection of Cleveland Institute of Art illustration students. Artist and disability rights advocate John G. provides representation for how the event is accessible for those with limited mobility. Guests can engage with all artists to learn about their work.

Everyone can participate in the Chalk Festival! To chalk your own creation, visit the registration tent in the Fine Arts Garden to purchase your pavement square. Chalk pastels suitable for the museum’s pavement are included in the purchase. Accessible spaces are available for those using wheelchairs or with limited mobility.

• $15 small square (includes a 12-count box of chalk pastels)
• $20 large square (includes a 24-count box of chalk pastels)

No reservations will be taken. The Chalk Festival is free to visitors wishing to enjoy the artists’ work and listen to live outdoor music provided by Ropa Vieja. Food trucks are available at the bottom of the Fine Arts Garden, and the museum café is open during the festival.

Interested in exploring chalk techniques in advance? Join us at the CMA Community Arts Center on Sunday, September 8, noon to 3:00 p.m for Chalk Party. Make your own stencil and explore chalking activities inside and outside. Engage with two featured artists, John G. and Danté Rodriguez, as they create their own large-scale chalk works during the event. Free and accessible to all ages and abilities.

###

About the Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 63,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovations. One of the top comprehensive art museums in the nation, recognized for its award-winning open access program and free of charge to all, the Cleveland Museum of Art is located in the University Circle neighborhood.

The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.