Chalk UP! Dusts Off Ephemeral 2016

Landscape chalk drawing. Courtesy of @kellyannmonaghanart on Instagram.

Chalk UP! came back to Adelphi on September 28, 2016, and it was bigger than ever. Not only was the area around the Garden City campus expanded, with an added focal point outside of Swirbul Library, but the day also saw record participation with over 65 student groups, clubs and organizations. As with previous years, Chalk UP! marked the beginning of this year’s Ephemeral art series at Adelphi.

The boost in participation resulted in more than 90 fantastic drawings decorating the campus walks.

Some of the more noteworthy art came from the art department’s Landscape Drawing class, where students were prompted to create a chalk landscape of meaningful locations. The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) created some exciting work, such as “the Gender Bread Man,” which was a handy diagram to help clarify the distinctions between sex, gender and sexual orientation.

After Ephemeral 2015’s ambitious line-up of events, this year will be comparatively pared-down and spread out. Ephemeral will continue on April 26, 2017, when sand painter Joe Mangrum will return to Adelphi to create a colorful, intricate design of colored sand. The meticulous, hours-long process will be quickly swept away by Melissa Riker ‘96’s Kinesis Project Dance Theatre.

Chalk UP! also coincided with the opening of Mahmoud Hamadami’s Endless Roads exhibition, which is up until October 30, 2016, on the second floor of the Performing Arts Center.