By Sahara Lyon

Every year, arts educators, advocates, administrators, artists, and more trek to Tallahassee from all over Florida for Arts Advocacy Day. Arts Advocacy Day, presented in part by the Florida Cultural Alliance (FCA), is a day for arts lovers and professionals to advocate for arts funding in Florida. Hundreds visit the Capitol Complex to meet with legislators, share stories and data of arts impact throughout the state, and ask for continued investment in Florida artists and arts and culture organizations. This includes arts education, and getting young artists to participate in advocacy is a priority of Arts Advocacy Day. One of the ways COCA involves youth artists in these conversations is through Chalk Walk, a day-long visual arts education event held in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day. Chalk Walk 2024 featured ten teams from seven different Leon County high schools, and each team was asked to create a work in chalk that represented Tallahassee’s Bicentennial Celebration.

Twenty high school students and their teachers from public, private, and charter schools started their day at the Florida Capitol instead of the classroom, working in teams of two to create impressive images using only chalk. We asked the students to work using the Tallahassee-Leon County Bicentennial as a theme, and they rose to the occasion! Students highlighted Tallahassee’s Indigenous history, the higher learning institutions that make the Capital City a sought-after place for researchers, the history of Civil Rights activism in the area, and more. Students had only five hours to complete a 3’ by 3’ chalk drawing, but preparation for the event started long before the day began. These youth artists were tasked with researching Tallahassee’s history and how the Bicentennial would be celebrated before working with their art teachers to either select an artwork to recreate or create their design to remake in chalk. Students created smaller, to-scale versions of their designs that they used during the event to speed up their drawing process. All this research paid off. As young artists recreated their works on walkways around the Capitol, they could answer questions about their work and its context when passersby asked. Chalk Walk 2024, while highlighting the importance of arts education and advocacy, allowed students to compile multiple academic disciplines into polished artworks.

The ability to combine multiple academic subjects was a highlight for a few of the Chalk Walk students. Desiree Scorsone, a student at Lincoln High School, stated, “I think creativity, in general, is important because it stimulates your brain to help you in so many other areas in your life.” She continued, “For example, I really like science, and being able to think creatively helps me come up with different ideas when inquiring about a research question.” Desiree’s teammate, Yohan Hopgood, agreed and expressed that, while he didn’t have much experience working with chalk, he was having fun and enjoying the learning experience. While some students, like Yohan, participated in Chalk Walk for the first time, a few returned for a second year after participating in Chalk Walk 2023. Laila Alexander, a Lawton Chiles High School student, returned to recreate a work by artist Jonathan Green with her teammate, Duanyue Ren, who was participating in Chalk Walk for the first time. Both young artists expressed their excitement for the event and their interest in pursuing the arts in the future.

The students weren’t the only ones who understood the importance of the arts and advocating for them. Kim Anderson, the North Florida Christian School art teacher, stated, “Art contributes to every aspect of education and academics, and it’s always important to be able to use your creative talent.” All the students and teachers present at Chalk Walk 2024 understood how important it was to show up, make art, and advocate for the arts. Desiree said, “I think advocating for the arts is something that we should continue to do for the next 200 years!”

We send a big COCA thank you to all the participating schools and the Florida Cultural Alliance for their dedication to arts advocacy and support of student work at the Capitol. Chalk Walk allows students to express their creativity and artistic talents in a public space for hundreds to see. It’s the power of arts education at work, and we can’t wait to see what the students make next year!

Click here for the Bicentennial-themed student artwork from Chalk Walk 2024

Click here to write your legislator in support of arts, culture & heritage funding in Florida