2nd Annual Chalk It Up! Festival
A Party Where Everyone is Invited
story by HEATHER STEINBERGER photos by JENNY PHILLIPS – 1111 MARCOM
The British street artist Banksy encourages us to “imagine a city … where every street was awash with a million colors and little phrases, a city that felt like a party where everyone was invited.” His vision is one of unbridled artistic expression in a transformed urban space, one that is both vibrant and inclusive.
Beaufort will bring that vision to life on March 28-30, when the Freedman Arts District hosts the 2nd Annual Chalk It Up! Festival. This immersive, open-air event will take place on Port Republic Street, starting with the opening reception at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday at the Tabby Place, the Beaufort Inn’s events venue; it will continue at 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the parking lot next door.
The Freedman Arts District, which is dedicated to nurturing a thriving Beaufort arts community through supporting local artists and engaging art enthusiasts, launched this signature district event last year. It was a resounding success, according to event chair Linda Silk Sviland.
“We were thrilled with the response we got, and we learned so much,” she says. “We will learn more each time we do this, and we will continue to grow.”
This year’s chalk art festival will highlight professional and emerging artists from across the country, including nearly 10 local artists and 40 out-of-state artists. Over the course of two days, they will actively work on their pieces and connect with festivalgoers.
Sviland says the opening reception will be an important part of the experience. For many of the visiting artists, this will be their first taste of Beaufort.
“Aunt Pearlie Sue will be there to offer a snippet of her production ‘The Dreamers,’” she says, “and Dr. Valinda Littlefield will provide an overview of our area’s African American history, including the story of the 1st SC Volunteer Infantry black regiment (formed in 1862, it became the 33rd United States Colored Troops Regiment in February 1864).”
Aunt Pearlie Sue is Anita Singleton Prather, a Beaufort Sea Islands native and the founder and artistic director of the Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater. Dr. Littlefield is the director of African American studies at the University of South Carolina.
“We’ll also be sharing information about local arts organizations, including the Lowcountry Wind Symphony, Beaufort Arts Association, and Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor,” Sviland adds. “Everyone is welcome — artists, locals, tourists.”
On Saturday morning, the artists will begin their pieces of pastel chalk art from scratch on a piece of blank pavement that is 4×4, 6×6, 8×8 or 10×10 in size. Festivalgoers can drop in as their schedules allow and return as many times as they wish to see how the artwork is progressing.
“We want people to come back multiple times,” Sviland says. “You can take breaks to go shopping, have coffee, or enjoy lunch. One local restaurant, Hop Dog, is even going to have a special menu for the festival.
“And please feel free to talk to the artists,” she continues. “They love to explain what they’re doing. In a way, this is performance art.”
The public also can enjoy art demonstrations in other mediums. A potter, a glass blower, and a blacksmith will be on hand to showcase their own work and explain their processes.
Local musicians will add to the creative atmosphere as well. At press time, Ashley Holland and Flatt Silly, Walker Dean, and Ryan Jones and Edward Water were scheduled to appear.
As an added bonus, University of South Carolina Beaufort will be welcoming the South Carolina Ballet to the USCB Center for the Arts on Saturday evening. At 7:30 p.m., the public will have the opportunity to see “Off the Wall and Onto the Stage: Dancing the Art of Jonathan Green.”
Jonathan Green was born in the small community of Gardens Corner, not far from the Beaufort Sea Islands. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982, and he currently resides in Charleston. This one-of-a-kind ballet is designed to bring the acclaimed contemporary painter’s Gullah-inspired artwork to life.
“The Jonathan Green ballet is yet another wonderful way for art engagement in Beaufort, and Freedman Arts District is a proud partner,” Sviland says.
As the artists wrap up their projects on Sunday, Sviland reveals that Chalk It Up! will host a very special event for local youth artists: a chalk art competition for the art classes at four area schools. Participants include Lady’s Island Middle School, Beaufort High School, Bridges Preparatory School, and Riverview Charter School.
“Each team will have 10 students, so we’ll have 40 kids chalk painting,” she says. “It’s going to be a blast!”
The festival will close with an awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon, with cash prizes for first, second, and third place. In addition, festivalgoers will find QR codes on all the artwork, so they can vote for the People’s Choice award winners.
“We’ll have awards for the three most popular pieces from the pros as well as from the high school and middle school students,” Sviland says.
Her enthusiasm for the festival is apparent, and the artists clearly share that enthusiasm. All of last year’s featured artists are returning for the second year, which is a powerful testimonial.
Danie Conolly is one of the returning local artists. A professional artist as well as a digital creator and producer, she is well-known for her involvement in Beaufort’s “It’s a Nutty Christmas” and “Lowcountry Boot Trail” projects, as well as the local reality show “The Art Posse.”
“It was pretty cool last year,” says Conolly, who originally is from Peabody, Massachusetts, and moved to Beaufort from Kennebunk, Maine. “A festival like this is so much fun, especially when people come by. With the kids, I give them opportunities to contribute because it makes such an impression at that age.
“They provide such a wonderful support system, too,” she says of festival organizers. “They treat us like gold.”
Conolly notes that it’s critical to get younger generations involved in the arts, and Chalk It Up! is a wonderful opportunity to do just that. It’s interactive, it’s immersive, and most importantly, it’s new and out of the box.
“For the young people, you have to have hip stuff,” she says. “There are so many different ways to appreciate art, and what’s more fun that an outdoor event like this?”
Benjie Morillo is another returning Beaufort-based artist. Born and raised in the Philippines, he moved to Oklahoma at age 16, earned his bachelor’s degree in art at Northern Oklahoma College, and got a scholarship to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he earned a master’s degree in architecture.
Now working as an architect with Frederick + Frederick Architects on Lady’s Island, Morillo says he is looking forward to participating in Chalk It Up! a second time.
“The festival is the best excuse to lay on the ground and draw without people looking at you too weird,” he says. “It’s probably about the experience as much as the artwork. You go through the day in the same spot, you start your creation, it rains a little, you fix it, the sun changes, it gets hot, people come and go, they sometimes ask about it, you fix it some more, and the piece gets finished to your satisfaction.”
“Being around other people who also want to lay on the ground and draw is what I’m looking forward to the most,” he adds.
Together, Chalk It Up! organizers, artists, and performers are all eager to do their part to support Beaufort’s arts scene, which Conolly says is growing by leaps and bounds. Morillo agrees, also observing that a festival like this helps a community share its unique stories.
“A place wouldn’t be special without its artists telling the story of that place,” he says. “There are a lot of artists who want to show how beautiful Beaufort is, so we can preserve this place. Beaufort has a lot of stories to share, and from what I can tell, no shortage of artists to share them.”
The arts can even connect communities with each other so knowledge and experience can be shared for the benefit of all. Sviland says she is grateful to the executive director of a similar chalk art festival in Marietta, Georgia, who guided her as she embarked on her journey with Chalk It Up!
“She said she wished someone had guided her,” Sviland says. “She was extremely helpful.”
In the end, what lifts up one, lifts up all. Innovative events like Chalk It Up! give a community a new way to share its cultural heritage, revitalize its economy, celebrate its artists, strengthen connections with locals, and build relationships with visiting artists and tourists, who then become ambassadors for the community when they go home.
And the community becomes that longed-for place, that party where everyone is invited.
