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Via Colori is a street painting festival held throughout the United States to raise funds for non-profit organizations. Hundreds of artists gather and create large-scale artworks on the street using chalk, and each artist is usually sponsored by a business or individual. The money raised then goes to the non-profit.
Via Colori strives for a spirit of cooperation, not competitiveness, as a collected expression of artists working together to support a cause.
History
[edit]Street painting was first recorded in Italy in the 16th Century when artists would paint religious icons in the courtyards of cathedrals. Known as "madonnari", these artists were "the visual arts counterpart of minstrels", and would most commonly paint icons of the Madonna. [1]Street painting festivals are now held throughout the world.
In 1994, the first Via Colori was founded in Naples, Florida. It has continued to grow since that time. [2]
Festivals
[edit]Festivals are currently held in the following cities: Houston, Texas; Elizabethtown, Kentucky; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Glendale, Arizona; Sandestin, Florida; and Fredricksburg, Virginia. They are hosted by "beneficiary hosts", 501(c)(3) organizations that license Via Colori and coordinates the festival to further its mission. [3]. In Houston, for example, The Center for Hearing and Speech is the beneficiary host.
Artists
[edit]Each Via Colori features an artist each year. The featured artist usually creates a larger square, and might be well known in the street painting world.
Other artists are both full-time professional artists as well as "talented hobbyists" and "art enthusiasts". Families occasionally paint squares together, or a group of high school students under the supervision of their art teacher will team up. [4]