2008 Pasadena Chalk Festival

Light Bringer Project is a nonprofit, Pasadena-based arts organization founded in 1990 by residents who were exploring the historic contributions that artists, architects and craftsmen made to the local environment. Inspired by these achievements, its founders imagined ways to bring more of today’s artists and their creative resources into the mainstream of community life.

In keeping with its mission “to build community through the power of the arts,” Light Bringer Project has delivered a range of unique cultural arts programs and special events that utilize high-degrees of collaboration, volunteerism and community-wide support. For its arts and learning efforts, the organization has received the California League of Cities’ Helen Putnam Award of Excellence in Public-Private Partnership. As an arts community participant, the organization was given the Gold Crown Award from the Pasadena Arts Council and has received an award of Outstanding Service from the City of Pasadena Arts Commission.

Programs & Services:

Light Bringer Project programs and activities serve those of all ages and backgrounds, with a special emphasis on youth and education. In addition to the Pasadena Chalk Festival, other notable among these are:

Room 13 (Official launch site: James Foshay Learning Center, South Central Los Angeles) This international program was begun in Coal, Scotland by primary school students who managed to create their own self-sustaining art studio and influence students in other countries to follow their lead. At the present time, Room 13 is operating in Mumbay, India, Katmandu, Nepal, England, Ireland and South Africa. The global model is aiming to expand to Hong Kong and create two additional stuios in Africa in 2008. Room 13 Los Angeles is the first one in North America.

Ad&Design Academy (L.A. advertising headquarters) A partnership with major advertising and marketing firms, including TBWA/Chiat/Day, Rub Postaer & Associates (RPA), GreyWorldwide, Muse Advertising & the Phelps Group. The Academy engages senior high school public school youth in the professional work environment while illuminating the many disciplines associated with the advertising, marketing, design and communication fields. The program is designed to strengthen learning and communication skills through mentorships, standards-aligned curriculum and student-driven team building projects.

Expressing Feelings Through Art (Los Angeles County High Schools) Founded by the Department of Mental Health over 25 years ago, this prevention program is delivered by Light Bringer Project in partnership with the Mental Health Association of Los Angeles County. It serves senior high school students across LA County who are challenged to develop visual and written forms of personal expression that address their key concerns and life ambitions. The program culminates in an annual public exhibition and scholarship awards ceremony honoring outstanding student achievements.

Pasadena Doo Dah Parade (Old Pasadena) Doo Dah’s 32nd occasional parade will celebrate the post-holiday season in its typically satirical style. Traditionally a spoof of Pasadena’s Rose Parade, Doo Dah sends up a woolly range of mischiefs, grounded superheroes, political pundits, homegrown satirists, art car inventors, and other bohemian frolickers. Classic Doo Dah marchers include Claude Rains & the 20-Man Memorial Invisible Marching Drill Team. The event is free to the public. www.pasadenadoodahparade.info.

Zorthian Ranch Oral History Project (Conducted in Pasadena/Altadena area) Any account of local artistic developments in the last half-century must include the Zorthian Ranch, which held a position of notoriety-over and underground-throughout the time period. Its’ regular visitors spanned the arts and sciences, generations, ethnic/cultural backgrounds and social strata. Many former visitors are now elders or have since relocated. Because of this, we are in danger of losing first-hand accounts of the key people and events that shaped the Ranch’s vitality and experience. The Zorthian Ranch Oral History Project seeks to record these personal narratives as a means of preserving the legacy of the place as a unique social and creative enclave. In pursuit of this, the Project will be professionally guided and utilize best known practices and interview techniques. In the end, the compilation of work will tell a larger story of how alternative and mainstream culture progressed through the years and significantly influenced our community’s cultural life.

Salons at the Castle (Historic Castle Green in Pasadena) Guests attending enjoy highly original artists presenting anything from genre music, classical piano, to live theatre performance. Each salon is different and is staged quarterly in the elegant Grand Salon or Ballroom of the historically preserved turn-of-the-century landmark. Performing artists’ talents are supported through this program.

Light Bringer Project maintains a public exhibition space and workshop for emerging artists of the Los Angeles area, called Metro Gallery, and provides technical and mentor support for individuals pursuing all artistic endeavors. To find learn more about Light Bringer Project, visit their website at www.lightbringerproject.com.

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The Pasadena Chalk Festival began in 1993 after a summer intern at the Light Bringer Project attended a street painting festival in Paris and brought back her amazing pictures and observations. From there, the festival has grown to become the world’s largest street painting event, boasting more than 600 artists and 70,000 visitors each year. To view the winning murals of the 2007 Pasadena Chalk Festival, please click here. Below are some more fun and interesting facts about the festival that keeps artists and visitors alike coming back for more.

Chalk It Out! Festival Extremes

The very first festival in 1993 drew 125 eager artists, while the 2005 festival was the largest ever with 621 artists.

Local Pasadena artists may travel a mile or less to get to the festival, but artist Gary Palmer once traveled roughly 5,200 miles – all the way from Ireland – to participate.

The youngest festival participant ever was Sasha Martinez – he completed his first individual mural at the tender age of seven! Sasha is now a junior in high school and created a mural for the 2006 festival. The oldest festival artist is unknown, though there are many participants in their 50’s and beyond.

Chalk By the Numbers…And the Colors

Festival artists use more than 25,000 sticks of chalk during the two-day festival.

Blue is the most popular color used (8,000 sticks used every year!), as it serves as the under-drawing base tint, followed closely by black and white.

Brown, beige, fuchsia and orange are the least popular chalk colors.

Artists at the festival learn to barter with others in order to get the chalk colors they need…and to make new friends!

Chalk It All Up to Hard Work and Planning

Some muralists create their chalk paintings in about eight hours, while for some of the true masterpieces of the festival, artists utilize all 20-plus hours of daylight that the festival weekend allows.

The largest mural ever created at the festival featured a giant red squid – whose tentacles extended more than 20 feet. Team members wore red squid-eye t-shirts to motivate them to complete their “giant task!”

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Over 700 artists using chalk as their medium and concrete as their canvas created spectacular murals at the 2007 PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL. Against the beautiful outdoor village style setting of Paseo Colorado, visitors from all over watched a new generation of artists design their chalk murals in a variety of styles from classical to contemporary, whimsical and fantastic to socially relevant.

For centuries artists (known in Italy as “Madonnari” or street painters) have painted beautiful images on the boulevards and squares of great cities, using the pavements as the street surfaces as their canvas. After World War II, scores of itinerant artists made their living from the unique art of street painting.

Currently prestigious cultural festivals in Europe, North and South America celebrate this traditional art form and have become popular attractions for artists, art lovers and people from all walks of life.

Now in its 16th year, the PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL is the largest in the world by sheer numbers of participating artists. In fact, previous festivals have attracted artists and design teams from many regions of the country, across Southern California, and virtually every Los Angeles-area community. Leading art schools, museums and cultural centers are also represented at the festival.

PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL is produced by Paseo Colorado and the Light Bringer Project, as a financial benefit for the nonprofit arts organization, raising proceeds for vital arts and learning programs in the schools and cultural opportunities for those of all ages. Each artist will volunteer up to 20 hours of his or her talent and energies to make this possible.

History in Los Angeles

2006 PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL, Paseo Colorado, Pasadena
2006 produced many milestones for the annual event including the renaming of ABSOLUT CHALK to the new PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL, the introduction of the "Famous Fathers" award category, national sponsorships, record-breaking attendance and over 43 million media impressions, making it the most successful chalk festival in history.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2005, Paseo Colorado, Pasadena
The 2005 ABSOLUT CHALK Street Painting Festival made a return appearance to Paseo Colorado on Saturday, June 25th and Sunday, June 26th. At the festival, almost 700 artists created their unique murals amidst the beautiful setting. Over 75,000 visitors and 10 million media hits regionally, made this event the biggest ever in its history.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2004, Paseo Colorado, Pasadena
Almost 700 artists, created approximately 200 murals for Absolut Chalk’s 12th annual event. The festival, which took place in the at the center plaza of this shopping village.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2003, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
Over 650 artists, the largest in the festival’s history, created over 200 stunning street murals for Absolut Chalk’s 11th year event. Award-winning chalk artists create their newest murals as part of this year’s centerpiece feature.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2002, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
650 visual artists return to Pasadena’s civic center to participate in this unique public art form. 13 Tibetan Monks from the Gynto Vajrayana Center participated as the festival’s special guests. They constructed a brilliant, distinctive sand mandala on-site in celebration of Absolut Chalk’s 10th anniversary. Gates opened free to the public.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2001, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
After an overwhelming response to the public drawing area the previous years, a new ‘Chalkland’ area was designated for families, children, and inspired newcomers to the festival, to try their hand at the chalk art medium.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 2000, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
As the number of artists continues to rise, the centerpiece mural this year reflects the multicultural nature of the event, featuring a giant hand, symbolizing unity, with five artists representing different social and ethnic experiences, each doing a ‘finger’ and all completing the center palm.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 1999, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
Over 400 artists, including many from different regions of the country, Europe, and Japan, descended on the public square at Pasadena City Hall to create pastel chalk murals in support of arts education and community arts programs. The ‘Absolut Art Gallery’ on-site was established as another way to share artists’ works with the public.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 1998, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
Approximately 400 visual artists created more than 150 murals in support of arts and cultural opportunities in the community. Guest Aboriginal artists from Brisbane, Australia and the continent’s Central Desert created the festival’s centerpiece mural in their ‘dreamscape’ dot motif.

ABSOLUT CHALK, 1997, Universal CityWalk
Over 350 artists participated in creating 150 murals at the well-known Los Angeles entertainment venue. Absolut officially joined the chalk event as title sponsor. All the artists participated in creating a large centerpiece mural, each drawing in a square foot of space, to the outline of the signature Absolut bottle shape.

Chalk it Up, 1996, West Hollywood Park (at Pacific Design Center)
Over 300 artists participated in West Hollywood, raising dollars for community arts programs and homeless support services. Kurt Wenner, recognized as one of the world’s greatest street painters or “Master Madonnari,” served as guest centerpiece artist. The mural was featured in international publications as part of the celebrated `Absolut Artist` advertising series.

Chalk it Up, 1995, Old Pasadena Historic District
Over 200 artists participated in the third annual chalk festival raising funds for community arts programs in the heart of this popular Old Pasadena retail/entertainment center.

Chalk it up, 1994, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
More than 200 artists participated in the second year event, which supported community arts opportunities and homeless programs in the San Gabriel Valley. At the time, the number of participating artists made it the largest street painting festival in the world.

Chalk on the Walk, 1993, Centennial Square, Pasadena City Hall
Over 150 visual artists participated in this first Los Angeles-area event. Proceeds went toward community arts programs and HIV/AIDS resources.

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WHAT: THE PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL, the world’s largest street painting festival, will draw nearly 600 artists from across Southern California, who will use 25,000 sticks of pastel chalk to create spectacular murals on pavement the size of two city blocks! Amazing works of art from every style imaginable, classical to contemporary, whimsical and fantastic to socially relevant, will be created and shown over the course of the weekend.

This one-of-a-kind public art event, now in its 16th year, is free-of-charge at Paseo Colorado. The most outstanding murals, as selected by the participating artists of the 2008 festival, winning jetBlue round trip tickets, along with other special awards from our sponsors, will be announced at the event’s conclusion.

THE PASADENA CHALK FESTIVAL attracts artists and design teams from many regions of the country and virtually every Los Angeles-area community. Leading art schools, museums and cultural centers are also represented at the festival. Chalk benefits the community arts programs of the Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based nonprofit arts organization.

WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 14 AND SUNDAY, JUNE 15
10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Paseo Colorado located at 280 E. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91101 (between Marengo and Los Robles Ave.) Murals on Garfield Promenade and Upper Fountain Court

VISUALS:

600 talented artists of all ages and ethnicities - professionals, non-professionals and students

Spectacular masterpieces created on pavement throughout Paseo Colorado’s beautiful Garfield Promenade and Upper Fountain Court

Thousands of visitors – young and old - each day

Madonnari Bistro featuring light fare and cocktails and proceeds benefiting the Light Bringer Project

Live music representing many cultural influences

Small painted canvases by festival chalk artists available for viewing and purchase at the Art Gallery

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