Our Core Values

It might sound silly, but if your sidewalk could talk, what would it say? If you want to have a positive impact on your community, start there.

Chalk Riot’s name was born with the acknowledgement that art can shift and influence culture, and be used as a force for good. The history of public chalk art is surprisingly radical! Early policing of public space against art was the suppression of political cartoons drawn on the sidewalk in the early 19th century. Muralists from cathedrals used chalk art as a means to teach Biblical stories and literacy skills to economic classes of people who were barred from entry. Suffragists used chalk to advertise underground meetings. Keith Haring used chalk in New York City subways in the 1980s to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic. Our name pays homage to the fact that our art form was defined by people committed to positive change with art.

The world would be safer, more just, and more abundant if less men were in positions of power. Patriarchy shows up in our work in the public realm all too often, which is specifically why our teams are majority or entirely women and non-binary people.

You’d think we would be enemies with the rain, but we have a surprisingly cordial relationship. Working in the elements makes us more connected to them. As a result, we draw lots of inspiration from the natural world around us, which you’ll see in our art. We are aware that all sidewalk upon which we create are on land that was once wild, and we have to honor that.

At times, this one can be difficult to practice. It’s so easy to assume we know everything as individuals, especially when we’re surrounded by like-minded people. But, we can rise above misunderstanding when we ask provocative questions and practice mindful listening. A more curious society is a more empathetic society.

Working sometimes in the transportation sector, we work with institutions and organizers aiming to decrease traffic violence. But, we know that a street that has minimal traffic violence could still be a street with gender-based street harassment, racist encounters, tons of litter, or inaccessible walkways and public transit. We must pay attention to all of these if we wish to truly make our streets safer for ALL.

We create art in response to the world simply because we don’t consider it “political”, we just feel it’s the right thing to do. No progress was ever made by being quiet. “Use it or lose it” in this context means using our constitutional freedom of speech — with art — and doing so in public space. As women and non-binary people, we also believe that merely the act of creation of any imagery can be construed as a political act. But we didn’t create that concept, the patriarchy did.

In DC, we exist in the middle of a strange venn diagram where federal, District and ward boundaries overlap. We know all about public space being overly surveilled, leading to more harm than safety. Art should be plentiful and uncensored. Public space should be for everyone, not only specific groups of people or demographics.

You never know when inspiration could strike. Chalk serves as a door into the portal of our creative freedom.