The Savannah Sidewalk Arts Festival

The Sidewalk Arts Festival is a four decade old tradition that brings the students of the Savannah College of Art & Design into Forsyth Park every Spring to show off their artistic talent. Generally held on a Saturday each April, the Sidewalk Arts Festival attracts locals and tourists alike who want to see what students from all over the world can create with just chalk and concrete! Come watch the student artists — who are attending S.C.A.D. to enhance their creativity — turn the sidewalk into works of art with just colored chalk. 

The location — Forsyth Park — is already a central meeting place for much of the city. It is where locals and tourists both come, although for different reasons. Visitors come to photograph Forsyth Park Fountain while locals come every day to walk, jog, run and bike around this beautiful oasis in the downtown district. And once a year what is otherwise ordinary white concrete becomes beautifully enhanced with colors, shapes and the stories the artists want to tell. 

The Sidewalk Arts Festival is one of those annual events Savannahians look forward to each year. Tourists don’t really plan a trip or vacation around something like this, but the visitors who are in town during the event love it. It showcases the best of Savannah — our rich history and tradition which looks into the past — and our hope for the future with continued creativity by the talented people who call Savannah home. 

Any connoisseur of art knows photography is generally restricted at art shows. It’s rare to find an exception but here the Sidewalk Arts Festival delights with its open photograph policy. You are free to walk around Forysth Park and photograph each and every student’s chalk art masterpieces. Wow! 

The event brings artists together to showcase their passion and tell the stories they hold in their hearts. Recent Sidewalk Art Festivals have grown to feature more than eight hundred (800) artists — mostly current S.C.A.D. students. Alumni also may enter this art competition since it falls on the same weekend as the S.C.A.D. homecoming celebration. 

The first Sidewalk Arts Festival was held within the first year the Savannah College of Art & Design opened in 1979. During that first academic year in the Spring of 1980, students began showing off their talents in the public square. Back then S.C.A.D. had less than 100 students and today it boasts an enrollment of more than 10,000 students. So while it may have a humble beginning, the next Savannah Sidewalk Arts Festival will feature world class talent and the widest variety of artistic styles ever. 

Next time you are making a list of things to do and it happens to be spring time, mark off the Saturday and April that is scheduled as the date for the next Savannah Sidewalk Arts Festival. The entire family — mom, dad, kids and grandparents — will truly enjoy this experience that is unique to Savannah, Georgia. You don’t want to miss it!