Mythmaker is a project that brings art and storytelling out onto the street.

With a piece of chalk hand we tell stories in public places. Our collaborative chalk workshops are a form of live interactive public art. Street-painting is combined with storytelling traditions of peoples from all around the world to bring art into the street. Our projects either raise awareness of humanitarian issues, or offer a doorway into the world of imagination.

The Mythmaker Project began in Venice California in 2008 and has worked with a variety of organizations from LA Works, The Zimmer Childrens’ Museum, Mychals Learning Place, St Matthews School, A Place Called Home, and at Arts Festivals across the United States. We are always exploring new ways to bring our colorful work, community spirit, and the power of storytelling and visual art to new places.

The workshops combine storytelling from world cultures and visual art as a vehicle for education. Our long-term vision is to realize the dream of colorful stories unfolding on the pavements of urban streets across the world to inspire a deeper understanding between cultures, and more peaceful future.

CHALK ART WORKSHOP

The workshops begin with a presentation of a myth chosen from a particular cultural tradition. Participants depict the narrative or a character in the story in a chalk painting, with some professional guidance were required. Children are introduced to visual interpretation of story and various techniques in the use of pastels in an inspirational environment.

PICTURE BOOK WORKSHOPS

In an extended series of workshops stories are developed with a series of chalk drawings to illustrate the tale. The drawings are compiled together with short narratives, and assembled into a picture book.

PUBLIC ART WORKSHOPS

Artworks based on stories can be painted in multiple small squares and assembled as a large scale wall mural. they can also be transferred onto ceramic tile for public art installations. The aim is to show how collaborative public art can be created from collected small works by groups of individuals.