A film portrait of the Chalk Festival 2022 'SPIRITED', showcasing some of the biggest names in pavement art from all over the world.
One month before the 'SPIRITED' festivities, on the morning of Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian, one of the largest storms to ever hit the USA, batters Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic fury.
'SPIRITED' was on track to be the largest Chalk Festival to date. Incorporating new art forms by adding teams of artists working in natural materials such as flowers and sand to create pavement art for the Floralia Infiorata debut.
Locally, over six months sculpture exhibits were being worked on with master sculptor Kumpa Tawornprom, and teams of local artists that included S'Carrie Phillips, who painted over 50 of the 100 zombie masks.
International artists started arriving as scheduled on October 1st to start helping with installations weeks in advance.
The festival was to open October 26-31 on a decommissioned runway and the 50,000 square feet of road that the Chalk Festival has repaved at the Venice Airport which has been home to the Chalk Festival since 2014. The onsite setup takes over a week.
But, by the second week of October, the event location canceled all activity due to unknown possible hurricane damage to the grounds.
After canceling 98% of the festivities resulting in a loss of over one hundred thousand dollars, Founder Denise Kowal decides to go ahead with a scaled-down version with roughly 25 artists, who were already in town.
With Venice unable to host the event activities were moved to Sarasota, where the festival first began in 2007. "Everything about the festival had to change," stated Kowal.
For the first time in the long history of pavement art, the artworks were moved from the streets to a renowned museum. This film is about what the organization did.
A film by Alessio Cuomo & Sander de Nooij Commissioned by Avenida de Colores, inc. Festival Founder & Creative Director Denise Kowal "Special thanks to Denise Kowal, all the artists, volunteers, and the people at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota." - Alessio & Sander
Directed & edited by
Alessio Cuomo & Sander de Nooij
2023 © Produced by ColdSun & Film Du Noir
Executive Producer Chalk Festival
www.alessiocuomo.com
www.filmdunoir.com
PEOPLE INTERVIEWED:
Denise Kowal, Chalk Festival Founder & Creative Director
Tony Cuboliquido
Kurt Wenner
Remko van Schaik
Eduardo Relero
Santiago Hernandez
Ruben Poncia
Alex Maskiov
Abraham Burciaga
Kanako Matsumoto
Anton Pulvirenti
Steven High
Jessica Clark
VOLUNTEER TEAM DIRECTORS:
Bill Baranowski
Russ Bullis
Laura Jo
Kumpa Tawornprom
Sandy Vecchione
Suzi Pardo
Lori Escalera
Debbie Hobbs
Erik Schlake
Santiago Hernandez
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Kumpa Tawornprom USA
Tony Cuboliquido ITALY
Kurt Wenner ITALY/USA
Remko van Schaik NETHERLANDS
Eduardo Relero ARGENTINA/SPAIN
Santiago Hernandez MEXICO
Ruben Poncia MEXICO/NETHERLANDS
Alex Maskiov UKRAINE
Abraham Burciaga MEXICO
Kanako Matsumoto JAPAN
Anton Pulvirenti AUSTRALIA
Lori Escalera USA
Sitka Dogan TURKEY
Roberto Rodriguez MEXICO
Pablo Garcia SPAIN
Bridget Lyons USA
Ruben MTZ MEXICO
Truman Adams USA
Chris Monaghan USA
Lautaro Musse ARGENTINA/AUSTRALIA
Cesar Polack MEXICO
John Riggins USA
Holland King USA
Eric Schlake USA
Carrie 'Scarrie' Phillips USA
Dennis Pannullo USA
Hillary Frambes USA
Jackie McCormick USA
Midnite Remisoki USA
Martin Karadzhov BULGARIA
Meghan Naumburg USA
Kaitlin Kelly USA
Lester Mendoza USA
Sandra Knowles USA
MAJOR SPONSORS:
Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues
Charles G Wright Endowment for Humanity
The Patterson Foundation
Gulf Coast Community Foundation
The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Print Posse
SPONSORS:
Sharky's on the Pier
Gold Coast Eagle
Gorilla Kleen
US Tent Rental
Berlin Sign Company
Englewood Review
Matt & Santhe Phillips
Sarasota Paint
Architecture Sarasota
Burns Square Historic Hotel
Capstone Association Management
The Fountain Kitchen & Wine Bar
Venice Mercado on the Island
Isaac Traenkenschuh
The Exchange
Sherwin Williams
Florida Bike & Beach
CONTRIBUTORS:
Baranowski, William
Bodkins, stanley & Rachel
Boring, Ronald
Brady, Katherine
Briden, Linda
Ceasy, Rose Marie
Cedrone, Lisa
Clapp, Sara
Codran, Sarah
Conant, Christopher
Crego, Edwin
Crist, Nanette
Diles, Jane
Dixon, Holl
Dobbin, Will
Donnelly-Wascher, Patricia
Dutton, Nili
Eide, Kris
Felten, Carol & Mike
Ferreri, Rosemary
Fox, Joan
Frank, Robert
Gambaro, Ginger
Green, Michael
Guinane, Joann
Hajdas, Hank
Harrison, Kim
Hensen, Joe and Mary Kay
Herzog, Julie
Jackson, Judy
Jo, Laura
Johnson, Loretta Ann
Johnson, Florys
Kapustiak, Beverly
Kelly, Emer
Kowal, Jill & Dennis
Kowal, Kenyon
Kowal, Austin
Lankton, Robin
Lawrence, Ninon
Lewis, Mark
Lopez, Christine & Manny
Lowsky, Karen
McCarroll, Anita
Michaud, Roland
Mills-Knudsen, Janet
Morris, Brian
Pachota, Michael
Pardo, Suzanne
Paver, Diana
Ramsomooj, Sharon
Rauch, Ruth Ann
Rosebaro, Luther
Rosenblum, Harry
Scott, Kara
Seiner, Rebecca
Smith, Pat
Stanley, Michelle D
Stevenson, Barbara
Stewart, Dorothy
Sue, Byrdie
Talbot, Susan
Tenwinkel, Charmaine
Tirse, Gisselle
Tozer, Eva
Troetel, William
Troia, Gennaro
Vecchione, Sandra
Vidal, Lizandra
Wallace, Jaime
Wallace, Julie
Waters, Sarah
Watkins, Judy
Westman, Ann
Wetzel, Barbara D
Zachos, David
Please if you were missed accidentally from a list that you should be included on, we ask you to reach out to Denise at denise@chalkfestival.org so we can recognize your support :)