This centuries-old style of street art, also known as pavement art and street painting, can also be viewed as a type of performance art. Artists use impermanent materials such as pastel chalk to create a variety of images and designs on streets and boulevards, sidewalks, plazas, and public spaces. For the past twenty-five years, the Pasadena Chalk Festival has celebrated this medium, attracting artists and design teams from many regions of the country. Leading art schools, museums, and cultural centers are also represented in the annual event.

The creation and installation of chalk festival murals, some of which are site specific, and chalk drawing demonstrations are featured. Photographs, a video history, and artists’ stories are included. Major accomplishments highlighted in the exhibit include breaking the Guinness Book of World Record in 2010 and presenting centerpiece artists like the Aboriginal team from Alice Springs and their “dream painting.” A special “tools of the trade” display gives visitors an inside look at the art form’s process and techniques. Chalk Festival Artists will demonstrate drawing, and the public will be encouraged to join in (chalk materials provided) on specific dates throughout the run of the exhibition.