Via Colori®, the Italian Street Painting Festival, is coming to Bardstown Kentucky to benefit the Advocacy and Support Center.
We spoke with Shelley Adkins, Executive Director, to get some information about her festival and the Center.
Let’s talk about the
We felt very blessed to have Joshua Vance ( What do we look forward to that will be new to artists and street painting fans from the inaugural festival last year? Although we had music last year, we have added bands and musicians that will keep the music flowing the entire two days. Do you have a theme or special focus for the festival? No special theme, just a free event for the community to enjoy. Do you get artists interested in doing the 3-D illusionary or anamorphic chalk art styles? I am not aware of any artist yet who will do a 3-D piece, but would love to see that happen! Let’s talk about the mission of the Advocacy and Support Center and how street painting art is able to bring positive attention and support to the Center and its activities. The Advocacy and Support Center is non-profit, Child Advocacy and Rape Crisis Center. We provide services to victims of all ages that have experienced trauma relating to sexual abuse/assault in an 8-county area. Our mission is to reduce the incidence of and effects of sexual victimization. Our center provides counseling for victims, non-offending care givers, and their friends for no fee.
Additionally, we offer victim advocacy for those who may be going through the court process, and education in public schools, other community agencies, and colleges. Because sexual victimization is such a hard topic for people to discuss, we feel we can still educate the public on who and what we do while providing a fun and festive event. I am hoping Via Colori® and the Advocacy and Support Center will be talked about in the same sentence for years to come.
Are there special artists coming to work from the region that we should know about? The great thing about this event is that it is open to all artists of different walks of life and creativity; it’s what makes the art work so special. I’m very excited to work along with them! We have always liked the idea of children’s squares and the fun the kids have doing them at festivals throughout the country. What is your view on encouraging and inspiring the street painting art form with children and younger student artists? Our children’s area was very successful last year, and incredibly fun. It also gives families with children a reason to come to the event. It’s amazing to see the joy street painting brings to the young! Some of my favorite art work was from the children’s section. Where do you see the festival going and growing in the near future? My hope is that this event will get bigger and better each year, which in turn brings awareness of our services to those that need them. State and federal budget cuts have hurt many of the non-profits to a point that could ultimately interrupt our services to those that need them the most. So, we will continue to build on Via Colori® and the creativity that others bring to make this event successful. Is there anything that we may have missed that is unique and special to the festival? The entire festival is very thought out and organized, but also allows those participating to show their own special creativity. Additionally, Bardstown KY is a very historic and beautiful area of our country. I have no doubt this will be a fun and festive weekend for those who choose to participate. It's great to see that street painting can help all different types of causes and missions. Best of luck with your festival! - Anthony & Wendy