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Street painting is an Italian tradition since the 16th century. During traditional religious and folk festivals, pavement artists, called madonnari or Madonna painters in English, who reproduced the icons of the Madonna — Mary, mother of Jesus, in chalks. In modern days, of course, Subject matter is no longer confined to the Madonna. Madonnari are itinerant artists who live a life of travel and freedom and live on donations and small commissions.

In 1972, the small community of Grazie di Curtatone in northern Italy started the first International Street Painting Competition. In 1987, Executive Director Kathy Koury, a fundraiser for the Children’s Creative Project, launched the first street painting festival in North America — I Madonnari, in Santa Barbara, California. In 1994, Youth in Arts brought Italian Street Painting Festival to Mission San Rafael Arcangel, which is now the largest one in the United States.

The following pictures are from this year’s I Madonnari:

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Check out this site for galleries of street painting festivals and lists of events.