Missouri Correctional Facility Participates in World Peace Day/Chalk4Peace!

As part of a project I started last year through the City of Boulder and with the help of my good friend, John Aaron, Chalk4Peace/Boulder in Color will happen on September 24, 2023 on 13th Street as part of the Social Streets Initiative.  After the pandemic, surveys were showing that people in Boulder wanted more chances to participate in art making (don't we all?).  I wanted very badly to bring a chalk festival of some kind to Boulder, and I had managed to do Chalk4Peace twice before at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta, Florida.  It was small, but successful, and I felt it was a good fit for Boulder.  More info click here.

As I was planning this event, I received word from Daniel Krachey, who is an Institutional Activities Coordinator at the Jefferson City Correctional Center (a maximum security prison) in Missouri, that they had a great event on Sept. 21 (actual World Peace Day).  In a previous blog, I wrote about their first attempts at chalk art (with great success)!

This was their second ever art event in Jefferson City, Missouri. Backs were sore, legs were cramped and no one wanted to get up the next morning, but they were all excited at what they created. There is a buzz about it in the entire prison. The inmates asked what this had to do with Boulder, Colorado, and the guys were happy to explain about world peace day and how we are joining with Boulder to celebrate.

Daniel wrote "Just because people are incarcerated does not mean they don’t have many of the same needs and desires everyone else does. So from us to the artists in Boulder, we stand with you on World Peace day. We look forward to seeing what you create."

Below are some pictures of their works!  Being able to inspire others with chalk art is so wonderful and inspires me to keep creating and teaching this great art form!