LEWISTON, N.Y. — This year would have been the 54th Lewiston Art Festival and the 36th Chalk Walk Competition. However, the pandemic has made a lot of local organizers change the way they hold events.
The Lewiston Council on the Arts was no exception. With hopes to keep the energy of the art-filled weekend alive, the council turned the Chalk Walk to the Chalk YOUR Walk competition.
Artists from 26 zip codes across Western New York submitted 53 entries. The council says they had participants from young as seven to as "old as dirt," in the words of one participating artist.
The council says almost 7,000 people voted on Facebook by "liking" the works they liked the best, as artists competed for $800 in prize money.
This year's winners have been announced. They include:
Best of Show $500: Erika Lalita Thurkins
This work is described as an interpretation of "Black Power as a Goddess, drawing on classic Hindu imagery and symbolism. The four arms, as in the classical depictions of devas (goddesses), are ripe with symbolism. The bottom set of arms are in a gesture of No Fear; one hand is up to receive blessings, one hand is extended to offer blessings. Simultaneously it represents the extreme courage of giving through your heart without restriction, even in the face of oppression, and the extreme courage of welcoming whatever is to come with surrender and serenity as a blessing and a channel for growth. She also has a raised fist for solidarity and to express her Power and holds a black lotus, a signal of her Grace."
People’s Choice: $250 April Hardin with 718 likes
The council wrote in its' press release that: "April's mural is a tribute to women’s suffrage and features 3 iconic women who were activists during the women’s suffrage movement; Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were at the forefront of the women’s right movement forming The National Woman Suffrage Association and traveling all over promoting women’s rights. Ida B. Wells-Barnett is recognized for her outstanding efforts to achieve equal opportunities for women of color in the suffrage movement. Without the courage and drive of these 3 women and many other amazing women, we would not be where we are today."
Honorable Mention: $50.00 Leslie Fox (13 and under)
The council said that this mural shows Leslie's love of summertime and dogs.