Follow Your Art Community Studios’ 4th annual Chalk Walk was held on Saturday, September 28th. It was a beautiful fall day filled with vibrant community art and we raised more than $8,500 for Arts for All!
Chalk Walk spans downtown Melrose, with artwork being created at multiple locations. Read below to learn more about the event and see how it all came out this year!
Community Gallery at Ell Pond
Now in its fourth year, Chalk Walk has grown to become a beloved fall activity in Melrose. Dozens of families drop by throughout the morning to make their mark on the winding pathway next to the Ell Pond gazebo. Donations to Arts for All are encouraged and several families purchase an extra square to “pay-it-forward” so that no one is turned away from Chalk Walk for inability to pay. Thanks to Arts for All, this concept is carried through year round in all programs at FYACS, making creative experiences accessible to all.
Follow Your Art provided the chalk (the good stuff!), templates, wet wipes (you will get chalky!), and volunteers to help guide people at the community gallery. Under the changing leaves, more than 70 squares are taped out so everyone has their own blank canvas. From the path emerged the most vibrant pictures of pets, pumpkins, geometric shapes, so much more. Some people are done with their squares in 20 minutes while others linger for longer, tweaking their artwork, getting their faces painted by the talented Florence Lee of Lucky Star Face Painting and enjoying the creations of others. It’s all up to the artists! A walk along the path in the days after the event, when the tape has been removed and the rain has yet to wash it all away, is a joyful experience.
City Hall
Over at Melrose City Hall, a group of artists from the community gather to donate their time and talent to create large chalk sidewalk art in recognition of the event’s sponsors. Some of the artists have been doing Chalk Walk since the beginning, while others joined us for the first time this year. To see a list of Chalk Walk sponsors and artists, visit fyamelrose.org/chalk-walk.
The artists and sponsors connected ahead of time and were invited to a meet and greet reception where they exchanged ideas for the design of their square. Sometimes they are inspired by an element of the business or an interest of the sponsoring family. The artists sketch out their ideas ahead of time, create stencils, and are ready to dive in on Saturday morning.
Chalk is not a common medium for many of the artists, but they come together to share tips and techniques, like how to give the artwork a little more longevity in adverse weather (The answer? Hairspray!). Up-and-coming high school artists and professional artists work side by side to create large, vibrant chalk paintings – this is not your average sidewalk chalk! The convivial atmosphere along the City Hall walkway while the artists are creating was enhanced by live local music from The Peanut Gallery. We’re told that the community feeling of the event makes the achy knees and chalky fingers worth it, and many of the artists return year on year.
What it’s all about
Chalk Walk is more than just a chance to gather and create colorful community artwork. This annual event raises funds for our Arts for All program. By “buying” a square, individuals and families in our community are helping to reduce barriers and increase access to creative arts programming so that people of any means or abilities, and those who identify as members of traditionally marginalized populations, feel as though they belong.
Arts for All support most often comes in the form of tuition assistance or adaptive assistance for participants with differing needs. We offer tuition assistance to more than 50 individuals and families each year, and have provided individualized adaptive support to more than 45 families.
When we provide adaptive services, we work with families and individuals to determine a tailored plan because we know that everyone’s needs are different. Our adaptive services have ranged from differentiating instruction, adapting curriculum, welcoming assistive technologies, reconfiguring the physical space (as we are able), hiring support assistants and interpreters, and inviting CORI-checked family-hired paraprofessionals to accompany students in class.
Leveraging art therapy approaches, FYACS staff have the background and access to resources to meet students where they are and help nurture their creativity as well as social-emotional wellbeing. If this sounds like something you or your student would benefit from, just ask, and we’ll work with you for an upcoming class.
See you next fall for the 5th annual Chalk Walk!