Celebrating its sixth year, Chalk the Block, a three-day art event, takes place from Oct. 11-13 at the Arts Festival Plaza Cleveland Square Park and San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso.
The event begins on Friday at 6 p.m. and continues until 10 p.m. and features more than 40 pop-up galleries by different artists. The events continue throughout the weekend and open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
This year, the poster for Chalk the Block was designed by a UTEP student and will be announced during the event.
Anne Giangiulio, graphic design professsor at UTEP, asked her students to design a poster for the event.
“In the spring semester, I assigned five students to do a poster for the event,” Giangiulio said. “Then the city of El Paso will be judging and will select one of them for the event.”
According to Giangiulio, this assignment will help her students to get recognition in El Paso.
She added that Chalk the Block is attended by almost 40,000 people— this will help them network and to make a name for themselves in the area of El Paso.
Her students will also be selling their posters.
Andrea Vick, senior graphic design major, is one of the participating students in Giangiulio’s assignment and her artwork revolves around the culture surrounding El Paso.
“The Chalk the Block poster that I came up with had to combine the culture that is around us here in El Paso, as well as incorporating Chalk the Block in some form,” Vick said. “I decided to use a mariachi theme for this poster.”
According to Vick, the experience will help her learn more about her career after graduation.
“This whole experience was very useful for me,” Vick said. “It allowed me the practice I would need in order to interact with future and/or potential clients after I graduate.”
Giangiulio and her students will have their pop-up gallery at the event, which will be located at 116 Mills by the San Jacinto plaza.
According to Kaycee Dougherty, Downtown Arts District coordinator for the city, the event has something for everybody.
She also said featured highlights include sidewalk chalk art, installations and performances by nationally renowned artists, pop-up galleries, live music performances and children’s art activities.
Each day, Chalk the Block will have special events throughout the day. On Oct. 11, the event takes place at Tricky Falls.
Tricky Falls will have a One-Night Only Art Installation open from 6 p.m. until midnight, curated by Erica Marin. Also, the official Chalk the Block launch party, featuring Mikey G from the Fox Jukebox will take place Friday night in front of Tricky Falls starting at 9 p.m.
The pop-up galleries and artwork installations and performances by artists from New Mexico, Colorado and Texas will be featured on Sunday, Oct. 13.
Dougherty said artists such as Christian Ristow from New Mexico, Jen Lewin from Colorado, the Austin Bike Zoo from Austin and fire and dance performances by Project in Motion from Las Cruces will be at the event, all starting at 11 a.m.
The event will also feature many different vendors on Sunday and Saturday.
Food, drinks and art vendors will be selling their art all day throughout the event.
Live music performances by:
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. – DJ Neil Mac
4 p.m. – 10 p.m. – DJ Fresco
10 a.m. – noon – Los Traques
Noon – 2 p.m. – Our Friend The Mountain
2 – 4 p.m. – Chuco Soul Project
4 – 6 p.m. – Lusitania
6 – 8 p.m. – La Ruda
8 – 10 p.m. – La Santa Cecilia
For more information, call 541-4481 or visit www.chalktheblock.com.
Leonardo Montañez may be reached at [email protected].
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