Chalk, Color, and Love at the High During Atlanta Pride

This was supposed to be Chalktoberfest weekend. When the festival was called off for the storm, Zach and I had a box full of chalk, cleared calendars, and a lot of love for this city with nowhere to put it. So on Sunday we took it to the sidewalk outside the High Museum of Art, four blocks from the Atlanta Pride parade, and let Atlanta show us what community looks like.

A line full of new artists

Second Sundays are free at the High, and by the time we laid down our first lines, the line to get in already stretched down the block. People waiting for the doors to open wandered over to ask what we were making. Then they asked if they could help. Before long, families were kneeling beside us filling our design with color, kids with chalk dust up to their elbows, alongside couples who were out exploring the city for the day.

We drew a giant “I Spy” coloring page across the plaza: white chalk outlines packed with flowers, a compass, a stack of books, trees, and dozens of little hidden objects, with a key that asked, “Can you find the objects?” The idea was simple. Find something, then help color it in.

Play clip: Camera moving over the white chalk outlines of the I Spy drawing, with flowers, a compass, books and a tree colored in

Play clip: Visitors waiting outside the High Museum stopping to color in the giant chalk line drawing on the plaza

That’s my favorite thing about chalk. There’s no glass and no velvet rope. Anyone can pick up a piece and become part of the art, and on Sunday, a lot of people did.

Play clip: Camera moving across the drawing as visitors fill in more of the outlines with color

Play clip: Close-up of the chalk drawing covered in layers of scribbled color from many hands

There’s no glass and no velvet rope. Anyone can pick up a piece of chalk and become part of the art.

Four blocks of color

Just down Peachtree, the Pride parade was in full swing, with even more color and even more love. We took breaks to join the crowd. The mayor rode by in the parade. Mounted police officers on horseback rubbed shoulders with queens in sequins and spandex. Everywhere we turned there were rainbows, glitter, hugs, and people cheering for each other.

We grabbed lunch at the Colony Square food hall and rode scooters and skateboards down the closed streets, weaving between floats and families, and it felt like the whole city had come outside to celebrate together.

Play clip: Zach in his purple Artist shirt skateboarding down a path along a closed street in the evening

Choosing love

Not every sign we passed was kind. There were a few signs of hate along the route. But they were drowned out by everything around them: signs of love, strangers looking out for each other, and an outpouring of community that was louder, brighter, and so much bigger.

I’m still a little sad about Chalktoberfest, and I can’t wait to be back on the Marietta Square next year. But this weekend reminded me why I make art in public in the first place. Chalk is temporary. The rain will wash our drawing away. What stays is the moment: a kid’s first chalk heart, a couple pausing on their walk, a whole city choosing joy together.

Play clip: The plaza in front of the High Museum covered in the colorful finished chalk drawing as a small child runs across it

By the end of the day, the whole plaza was covered in color, one I Spy object at a time.

Thank you, Atlanta. Happy Pride.