This past weekend Scottsdale hosted its first Via Colori street painting festival. I have attended the nation's biggest street painting festival held in Santa Barbara, CA and was glad to hear Scottsdale was hosting a similar event.
First, I have to say it was not to the scale or excellence of the Santa Barbara event; That is by design. Via Colori does not award prizes for best of show and such. It uses the art as a backdrop for a weekend of celebration and fund raising. Unlike the Santa Barbara event, Via Colori shows off mostly local talent... although they did bring in one international pro, Melanie Stimmell, whose work is pretty incredible.
I've put together a quick video of the event and hope you get a sense of the fun. Perhaps you keep an eye out next year when the Second Annual Via Colori in Scottsdale will happen.
I do have to say that downtown Phoenix is missing the boat here. A street paining festival at St. Francis would be amazing and be in line with the original street painting festivals of the 16th century that were held on the courtyards of great Italian Cathedrals. Just an idea for the Phoenix Arts Counsel to consider.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
