It's that time again...the 38th annual Grazie di Curtatone international street painting competition!
Blog Now on streetpainting.tv covered this festival in depth last year, thanks to our Italian correspondent Bruno Fabriani, a street painter who competed in the competition.
For those of you learning about the festival/competition for the first time, here's a little history...
This is the original street painting competition, started in 1972 in Mantua, Italy, to preserve the art form of the madonnari (street painters). The international competition is held each August during the public holiday of the Feast of the Assumption. Traditional religious and Renaissance themed street paintings are created in chalk on the piazza in front of the town's church in a 24 hour period under difficult conditions. The contest starts in the early evening so participants have to work into or through the night, then battle the blazing heat the following day to finish up their street paintings by the deadline at early evening.
The competition has 3 levels (Semplici, Qualificati, Maestri) and you must win the first level in order to compete in the second level, etc. The top award is winning the 3rd level of competition when you are given the title Maestro or Maestra, meaning you are a master street painter in this particular competition. The competition is open to street painters worldwide, but you must register in advance to participate.
The Madonnari will begin their street paintings at 6:30pm on Saturday, August 14th and have until 7:00pm on Sunday, August 15th to finish their pieces. Here's a complete schedule of events for the weekend, in Italian. Stay tuned for coverage from the XXXVIII Grazie di Curtatone International Street Painting Competition!
This is the award that the 1st place winner will receive, along with other prizes and prestige! Good luck to all of the participating Madonnari!