The third edition of Chalk It Up!, the Pensacola Sidewalk Art Festival, will take place May 10th! That’s the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Location is Commendencia Slip in downtown Pensacola. Unique to the Pensacola area, Chalk It Up! features local artists competing for cash prizes in three different categories.
In contrast with most art festivals, artwork at Chalk It Up! is created DURING the event, not before. You can, of course, drop by in the afternoon to view the completed work, but it’s much more fun to get there early and experience the creative process. Stroll along behind the artists and watch as their images emerge on the pavement, and observe the varied techniques used by the artists to blend and soften the vibrant colors of the chalk.
The chalk used for the event includes ten deep, rich colors, plus black and white sticks, used for shading and highlighting. Each artist is given one box of chalk, a designated sidewalk art space and allowed four hours to complete a sidewalk masterpiece. The art spaces measure 42.5 inches by 55 inches (double that for team entries).
Chalk It Up! artists come from various backgrounds. The prize winners from last year’s event included an architect, a high school art teacher, a graphic designer, a team of self-taught artists from Gulf Breeze, and a Mobile native who spent ten years working on Mardi Gras floats, specializing in sculpting large figures.
Categories for this year’s event are Time Out Pensacola!, Off the Wall… and Onto the Sidewalk, and It’s All Geek to Me, a shout out to this year’s sponsored group, the Pensacola MESS Hall. The MESS Hall (Math, Engineering, Science & Stuff). offers a hands-on learning experience for kids, and proceeds from this year’s event will benefit this unique organization. Visit their website at www.pensacolamesshall.org to learn more.
Visit our website at www.chalkituppensacola.org for category descriptions, artist registration, and sponsorship opportunities, or visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/chalkituppensacola and give us a like, check out our event invite, and view our promotional video that features last year’s Best In Show artist, Chuck Kunze.
