Even on one of its gloomy days, the Santa Barbara Old Mission is alive with color as the I Madonnari Festival returns for its 40th year.
The I Madonnari festival is a free community event that features incredible street artists creating giant works of art with chalk. Every year, this festival transforms the Old Mission into a temporary outdoor gallery, raising money for arts education programs through the Children’s Creative Project.
The Italian tradition of Madonnari street painting dates back to 16th-century Italy. This festival has been going on in Santa Barbara since 1987, and it’s the first of its kind in the western hemisphere. Every year, more than 150 chalk artworks are created, drawing thousands of attendees.
Along with the remarkable art, there’s also live music, food, vendors, raffles, and so much more to experience. After four decades of this festival taking place in Santa Barbara, it’s become one of the city’s most recognizable cultural traditions.
For many participants, I Madonnari is more than an art festival; it’s a yearly tradition rooted in community and self-expression. One of this year’s amazing artists is Dawn Morrison Wagner. Wagner first participated in this festival back in 1988, and this is her 39th year.
She shared that she had the “privilege of growing up in Santa Barbara… and being able to be a part of the second festival back in 1988 really shaped my life… It’s brought so much joy and travel and friendship, and I wouldn’t be myself without it.”
Wagner shared that street art has become a “center focus” in her life because of the I Madonnari festival.
Alongside seasoned artists who have been attending this festival for decades, there were also several newcomers who were experiencing sharing their art for the first time. One talented young artist, Nahla Rose Nelson, 16, had the opportunity to create a design for many different students from Santa Barbara High School to collaborate on for the Visual Arts and Design Academy.
“There’s a certain painter who used to paint murals that were visible from different angles and directions,” Nelson said. “I wanted to do that… create a picture that no matter which way you looked at it, you could see something different.”
(Photo by Lily Karofsky/Special for the News-Press)
The heart of the festival can often be found not just in the artwork itself, but in the people kneeling beside it for hours at a time. Another artist participating in the festival is Marlon Yanes. Yanes started doing chalk art in 2009, and this is his 11th year at I Madonnari.
Yanes shared that the first time he ever participated in this festival, he had “no idea of the tools or anything else… I just showed up with a box of chalk and a printed picture and started doing it, and then I fell in love with it.”
He said that drawing eyes or facial expressions is one of his favorite things to do, because there’s so much detail to explore.
Beyond the artists themselves, much of the festival’s energy comes from the thousands of attendees walking through the Mission grounds each day. Many people come from out of town, or even out of state, to see the beautiful artwork.
Taylor McDonald, a Los Angeles resident, shared that he wasn’t planning on coming to I Madonnari, but stumbled upon it and couldn’t be happier.
“One thing I love about coming up to Santa Barbara is just the connection to the community and the idea of using art to just bring people together,” McDonald said.
At a time when arts funding often faces uncertainty, I Madonnari continues turning creativity into direct community support. Even though the artwork is temporary, the tradition and community impact continue long after the chalk fades.
The festival runs through Monday.
