Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

When Barbara Minarro received an invitation from Artpace to participate in this year’s Chalk It Up event, she eagerly accepted.

“I love it! I had such a great time the first time I took part in it,” said the fabric artist who has had ties to Artpace for a number of years as an intern and studio assistant. “I love Artpace as an institution. It’s doing so much for artists not only in San Antonio but nationally and internationally, too. I also love this year’s expanded format for Chalk It Up, that allows us to connect with the community through the libraries.”

Founded by Artpace in 2004, Chalk it Up typically brings together professional artists and artistically minded school and community teams to work on chalk murals on the streets and sidewalks along Houston St. and Main Avenue downtown. The event has been described as turning downtown streets into a gallery of contemporary art.

But this year, everything is different and, as Minarro indicated, maybe better. Instead of focusing all that talent and energy downtown, there will be lots of smaller Chalk-It-Up projects across San Antonio at public library sites. Not every single library will be involved but 20 professional artists, like Minarro, are planning to spend Saturday Oct. 10, drawing chalk murals on the pavement around 10 library buildings, one in each city district, from the Maverick Library in the far Northwest to the Mission Library on the Southside. The overall 2020 theme is “community.”

Minarro’s take on “community” is inspired by books like “Where’s Waldo” that she remembers from childhood. Dispersed all over her 20’x15’ mural will be images of local gathering places, such as museums and libraries, challenging viewers to find them. “Community is more important now than ever. People feel so isolated,” said the artist.

Another participating artist, Richard Armendariz, will be creating his chalk image at the John Igo Library with the assistance of his 15-year-old son, Joaquin. A veteran of multiple Chalk It Up events, the well-known artist – whose work is currently exhibited at the Ruiz Healy Art gallery – is planning to focus his mural on a huge bouquet of flowers, such as tiger lilies and philodendrons, in a vase featuring a text message about the people “we have lost in 2020, due to COVID, due to unrests, or simply because their time was up.”

“I like images of flowers and vases because they have both joyful and sorrow-full connotations. But they always express caring for the person you are giving them to. Right now, it’s often the only thing we can give. They are sources of comfort and inspiration.”

He expects to be working on the piece pretty much throughout the allotted time on Saturday, which is 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. One thing worries him, some, however. Though visitors will be welcome to see his work in progress or finalized, they will be allowed to do so only by slowly driving by in their cars, which, of course, affects their perspective. So, Armendariz will be trying to design his image at special angles to make it look “right” when viewed from the car.

But it doesn’t bother him a bit that his work may be washed away in a few days. “I love ephemeral things,” he noted. “I watched once as Buddhist monks created their sand paintings during their meditations, and then wipe it all away as soon as they were done.”

Other participating artists include Fernando Andrade and Cassidy Fritts, at the Central Library; Isabel Ann Castro and Mark Anthony Martinez at the Mission Library, Yoko Misu, Nathan Segovia and Ruth Buentello at the Maverick Library, and others. To see the list, go to www.artpace.org

In addition to the pros, schools and nonprofit groups are once again involved but they had to work on their murals in September, in their own schoolyards or other available spaces, without mixing with other teams. Each school team was then expected to send a photo of its finalized mural to Artpace, accompanied by a statement describing the group’s intent and inspiration. According to Artpace’s communication manager, Casie Lomeli, all area school districts are represented. On Oct. 10, event co-chairs Katie Pace Halleran and Cristina Pena will choose 17 finalists and a winning team, who, in addition to a moment of glory, will all receive gift cards from H-E-B.

Among the community groups are teams from the McNay; the Blue Star MOSAIC educational program and the Cube Project Space at the Brick.

The decentralization of Chalk It Up has also spun off Chalk It Up at Home for anyone who wants to play with chalk in their driveway or back patio. And that’s what Lomeli intends to do on her patio Saturday, solo or with a couple friends.

She estimates that, altogether, some two thousand San Antonians will be taking part in the 2020 Chalk It Up.