The 7th annual Chalk Art Festival will be held on June 19 & 20 in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Thousands of families will flock to the Gateway to watch dozens of artists create, beautiful, temporary works of art. Blog Now on streetpainting.tv spoke with Amy Oliver, Festival Co-Chair, to get more info about their event.
Let’s talk about the Chalk Art Festival…what are the highlights that everyone should be aware of this year? First thing that comes to mind is that Nathan Osmond will be joining us again this will be joining us again this year—he’s been incredibly fantastic to us, even as he’s promoting his album this year through the same timeframe. We’re also joined with the KSL Family Fair, so there will be plenty of vendors around. The fountains at the Gateway will be running and guests can still run through them all they want! We have several featured artists this year— Lee Jones, Steve Platt, Chalk-o-licious, Gina Jrel, Jonas Mitchell, Holly Bailey, Anye Velasquez and Mike Rose...and we’re please that these featured artists are returning to work with us again. The Kids Korner will be back to give kids a chance to get in on the action. What do we look forward to that will be new to artists and street painting fans from the festival last year? The art, most definitely. The artists are coming up with some really incredible artwork this year—not that they haven’t done fantastic artwork in the past! We also have a new theme this year and we’re encouraging artists to go all out—they don’t have to create their work around the theme but if they do, all the better. Do you have a theme or special focus for the festival? The theme for this year is “What Inspires You?” We’ve had artists who’ve worked on 3-D art before but I think they really just do what inspires them that particular year. And we’ve definitely had some artists make some cool ones. I’ve seen the artwork and been to the festival as an outsider and I think what really wows people is not necessarily subject matter itself, but really the way in which it’s presented. These artists who come in and create a lifelike drawing of a child out of chalk on the sidewalk of the mall really gets attention. And the brighter colors. Where do you see the festival going and growing in the near future?
Do you get artists interested in doing the 3-D illusionary or anamorphic chalk art styles?
The response from the onlookers we find bring the ‘wow’ factor into the art and bring the creative best in the street painters…what types of subjects have been the most successful for the festival?
What is your view on encouraging and inspiring the street painting art form with children and younger student artists?
Part of our mission at the Utah Foster Care Foundation is to ensure that children are provided with the support, care and love they need to grow up to their aspirations. When we put on Chalk Art Festival every year, one of the most important and most popular areas is the “Kids Korner”. We will be handing out chalk left and right to children to get them in on the action. I think, personally, that it’s incredibly important for children to be encouraged to engage in street painting, especially foster/adoptive children. Art is a creative outlet for emotions and dreams and children have the highest emotions and the most incredible dreams. And I think what’s best about street painting for children is that people see that. People purposely stop on the street to see what you’re doing, what you’re creating, what you’re feeling. I think that gives a child—or any artist for that matter—a sense of importance...that they matter.
Hopefully the festival will grow to heights that will attract even more featured artists. It’s wonderful to have artists so interested in working with us and showcasing their work. We have Nathan Osmond who supports us and that’s just so incredible—he’s really amazing for giving us so much support, even as he’s promoting an album and having to go back and forth across the country.
Is there anything that we may have missed that is unique and special to the festival?
Our festival isn’t just about showcasing art. It’s about making the community aware of the need for foster/adoptive parents and it’s also an opportunity for us to reward and honor our Foster/Adoptive Fathers of the Year from around the state. It’s a really incredible two days where we get to bring everyone in the community together and really make a splash. There are more than 2600 children in foster care in Utah at any given time and we are always in need of families to care for them—the Chalk Art Festival is a great way for us to reach out to people who are interested in family because it is a family event.