34th Annual Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival

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Starting with the 2012 Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival, I have created a blog post every year to capture some of the incredible chalk art created on the Fine Arts Garden's stone pathways in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This includes both 2020, when #CMAChalkFestival was online only -- "Social Distancing Style" -- due to COVID-19, and 2021, when "a spur-of-the-moment trip south to take care of some family business prevented me from attending," but my son, Kevin F. Smith, saved the day by attending and sharing photos on social media.

I enjoyed creating chalk drawings at the event in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, but have not participated as an artist in recent years.

I am so glad I was able to attend the 34th Annual Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival on Sunday, September 17, 2023 -- my 12th year taking photos and videos of the event. I hope you enjoy what I put together to capture the artwork and the atmosphere of the event:

I recommend viewing in full screen mode.

 

 

Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival 2023 on YouTube

Here are some YouTube videos that I found showing chalk artwork from 2023's event. Note the first video is by Poko Traveler, who I know from his social media stream. In my Chalk Festival blog post last year, I also included Poko Traveler's video. This year, I sent him a direct message and learned that he is active on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/pokotraveler/

 

 

 

 

 

FreshWater Cleveland Slideshow

Be sure to see this article for more photos:

• Sidewalk masterpieces: Museum of Art's annual Chalk Festival brings professionals, amateurs together
  Thursday, September 21, 2023 - Posted by Bob Perkoski on FreshWater Cleveland

 

 

 

Cleveland Museum of Art News Release and Announcement

Cleveland (September 7, 2023)—Artists of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in the 2023 Chalk Festival at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) on Saturday, September 16, and Sunday, September 17, 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.

Children and adults enjoy this annual event where community members join professional artists in using the walkways around the Fine Arts Garden as a colorful canvas. Begun in 1990, our 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. Watching the chalk artists and enjoying the entertainment is free.

Learn more about this annual event in the official Cleveland Museum of Art New Release and Announcement. Click on the following two images to open a PDF file in a new browser window with all the details:

 

 

Here is a video that the Cleveland Museum of Art shared on Facebook from the event:

 

 

New in 2023!! Free Mini Chalk Festival at Community Arts Center

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I missed the New Mini Chalk Festival on September 10, 2023, since I was out of town at a backpackers reunion and at the 2023 Appalachian Trail Hall of Fame inductee ceremony at the Appalachian Trail Museum, but I will be sure to watch for this new event if the museum does it next year. I think that it is great that the museum is expanding their Chalk Festival activities to their Community Arts Center | Centro de Artes Comunitarias.

 

Related Blog Posts

For this, my twelfth Chalk Festival blog post, I want to thank all the creative people who participated. The chalk art created at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Chalk Festival every year is outstanding!

Please take some time to see artwork from the past eleven shows by reading my blog posts:

• Blog Date: September 25, 2022 - Glad to be Back in 2022: Cleveland Museum of Art's 33rd Annual Chalk Festival!

• Blog Date: September 18, 2021 - Enjoying Remotely in 2021: The 32nd Cleveland Museum of Art's Chalk Festival

• Blog Date: September 15, 2020 - #CMAChalkFestival Social Distancing Style: Cleveland Museum of Art's Virtual Chalk Festival 2020

• Blog Date: September 21, 2019 - 30th Year! Cleveland Museum of Art's Chalk Festival 2019

• Blog Date: September 25, 2018 - 2018 Photos: Cleveland Museum of Art's 29th Annual Chalk Festival

• Blog Date: September 26, 2017 - Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival 2017

• Blog Date: October 3, 2016 - A Weekend of Community Art, Including the 2016 Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival

• Blog Date: October 19, 2015 - Cleveland Museum of Art Chalk Festival 2015 - A Day of Art & Sharing

• Blog Date: September 16, 2014 - Chalk Festival 2014 - Cleveland Museum of Art

• Blog Date: September 23, 2013 - 2013 Chalk Festival Photos

• Blog Date: September 20, 2012 - Cleveland Chalk Festival

See more by reading my 54 "CMA (Cleveland Museum of Art)" blog posts, or 69 "University Circle" blog posts.

At last count, there are 84 other blog posts tagged "Art!"

Thank you for reading my blog post. You can learn about my travel journeys with my wife and co-blogger, Julie, and the venues we explore in Cleveland and Akron at: sosAssociates.com/Blog