Crewe locals invited to chalk it up

The streets of Crewe town centre are set to become the canvas for an international art festival over August Bank Holiday weekend, when around 30 artists will transform the pavements into a riot of colour as part of ‘Chalk It Up’.

The artists, many of them multi-award winners and world renowned, will be arriving from across the globe, including from the United States, Italy, France and the UK.

They will use chalk pastels to create pieces of artwork in Crewe’s Market Square as they compete for a series of prizes.

During the weekend there will also be opportunities for visitors to give pavement art a go themselves, as well as a children’s competition.

Councillor David Brown, cabinet member for arts and culture at Cheshire East Council, said: “Cheshire East has a rich cultural heritage and Crewe plays an important part in that. But while it is best known for being an historic railway town, it is fantastic that this festival will celebrate another feature of Crewe’s heritage, pavement art.

“Pavement art originated in Britain and during the Victorian era, the artists, known as ‘screevers’, flourished around areas where tourists and business people passed through, such as railway stations. Crewe was no exception.”

All artists, many of them known for 3D pavement art, will be working on their creations between 10am and 6pm on the first day of the festival and the morning of the second, with judging then taking place during the afternoon.

On day one, visitors can add their mark to a giant chalk painting in Lyceum Square from 1pm-4pm. The evening will then see the UK premiere of ‘GESSO – the art of street painting’, a new documentary film about street and pavement art.

On day two, from 12pm-3pm, children can participate in a competition on Lyceum Square where there will be prizes for different age groups.

Visitors will also be asked to vote for their favourite piece of pavement art, with a prize for the winning artist.