Bring yourself back to those sunny days you spent as a child outside, gripping a large hunk of bright blue chalk and scribbling on the ground, leaving no bit of sidewalk untouched by your free-flowing artistry.
This Thursday you’ll get the chance to relive those childhood memories at the Fifth Annual Chalk It Up event hosted by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Memorial Quad, anybody can be an artist. There will be cups of chalk available for people to cover the sidewalks with whatever their creative minds desire, along with free lemonade and popsicles in the spirit of spring.
“It’s a fun way for people to pause and take a mental break in the middle of the term and encourage people to use their artistic skills on any level,” said Debbie Williamson, the communications manager for the museum. “We love to have it in the quad as more of a central gallery. [It’s] just a way to start sharing the word about student membership [to JSMA] and encourage people to participate in the art.”
This event is usually one of the campus museum’s biggest outreach opportunities for student memberships. Student memberships are free and include consistent benefits like ten percent off anything at the Cafe Marche and the museum store. It also allows exclusive access to certain events and one year of free museum membership after graduation. Last year they set a record with 156 new student memberships.

“There are a lot of opportunities for students at the JSMA, but it’s hard to find them,” said Sarah Wyer, president of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum Advisory Council.
Chalk It Up is one of the main events JSMA holds every year to increase engagement with the student body; however, it’s about more than just exposure for the museum. It’s a chance for students to express themselves in whatever way they feel, whether it be drawings, quotes, or whatever comes to mind. 
“We had a group of people create this beautiful big memorial for someone they knew that passed away and it was deeply touching to walk by and read it,” said Wyer. “They took up a huge square and they drew flowers and wrote ‘We miss you,’ and it was beautiful… We never really know what to expect.”
This event allows the quad to become a canvas of the university, and a chance to display and participate in art in a way that is often overlooked in the stress of spring term. People have taken to it in the past, and are expected to express themselves through art again this year.
“It’s really to just stop, breathe and get creative,” said Williamson. “Either by participating and creating chalk drawings or picking up an artistic publication or to just take the time to look at art. It’s so much fun to just sit down with chalk and take that moment to relax.”