Six women sitting on a vibrant, floral mural painted on the ground.
Group of five women standing together outdoors near a city street, wearing yellow safety vests, with a small orange sign that reads 'Women Working' in front of them. One woman is crouching in front, all smiling. Behind them are cars, trees, and stree
Group of people in yellow vests sitting on a colorful painted sidewalk in an urban area with trees and buildings, some of them smiling and making peace signs.
Group of seven diverse people standing together in an empty swimming pool with decorative honeycomb and bee-themed display that says "Creatives" and "Storytelling." They are smiling and wearing conference badges.
A group of people, including children, protesting for safer streets, holding signs that read 'Safer Streets Can't Wait,' 'Our Future Needs Safer Streets,' and 'Safe Streets Protect Us All.' They are standing on a street with colorful chalk messages.
Group of five diverse women smiling outdoors on a cloudy day, standing in front of trees and cars.
Construction workers painting a colorful strawberry design on a crosswalk with a building and trees in the background.
Group of eight people celebrating in front of a colorful backdrop with a Sign that reads 'Chalk Riot' and a speech bubble sign that says '10 years, baby!' The individuals are smiling, some making peace signs, and appear joyful and festive.
Workers painting a colorful mural on a sidewalk next to a Montgomery County Transit bus under a clear blue sky.
Two women standing together at a conference, smiling in front of a colorful backdrop that reads "Bloomberg CityLab 2023" with bright pink, yellow, and blue colors. One woman has curly blonde hair, wears a blue shirt and earrings, and has a "Participa
A woman and two children painting a large mural on the floor, with the woman in the middle helping them paint a brown border.
A bicycle with a cardboard box attached to the front basket, containing a sign that reads 'Chalk Your Message!' on a city sidewalk near a crosswalk.
Three women wearing face masks and holding chalk sticks, taking a selfie outdoors on a sunny day with a crowd and a monument in the background.
Group of people wearing masks gathered on steps in front of a building with banners, holding a sign that says "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH" written in colorful chalk on the ground.
Three women smiling for a selfie in an indoor setting, one with light brown hair, one with dark braided hair, and one with blonde hair and a headband, wearing casual clothing.
Colorful chalks held by two hands, with a crowd of people in a park visible through a large window.
Group of six people standing together outdoors in a green park, smiling for the camera.
A woman holding a bright yellow sign that reads 'SAFE STREETS PROTECT US ALL' at an outdoor public demonstration, with several other people in the background.

Hi, we’re CHALK R!OT

Chalk Riot is a mural company specializing in vibrant pavement art, based in beloved Washington, DC. Our crew is proudly and intentionally led by women and non-binary artists, designers, muralists and administrators.

Scroll to read about our journey through the years.

Two women are creating a colorful chalk sidewalk art with swirling patterns in pink, yellow, green, blue, and purple. They are kneeling on the ground, surrounded by chalk boxes, and both are wearing Chalk Riot shirts.

How it started

Way back in 2013, Chalk Riot started with a few friends using sidewalk chalk as a way to share color and joy with their communities, and to encourage their neighbors to start viewing ground surfaces found in cities as opportunities for connection and storytelling. While busking around the world and doodling in parking lots, it wasn’t long until people started asking “how much for that?” and Chalk Riot quickly grew from a hobby to a full-time business. Now, a diverse group of seasoned muralists and collaborators regularly create in the nation’s capital and beyond. We’re thankful for every person, organization, loved one and client who continues to help us grow.

A group of nine diverse people smiling and celebrating at a party, holding a blue sign that says "10 Years, Baby!" in front of a pink and purple backdrop with a banner reading "Chalk Riot."

How it’s going

As part of our extensive client list, Chalk Riot regularly works with city planning officials, property developers, and Business Improvement Districts to improve road safety with positively engaging pavement artwork. We are honored to collaborate with urban planning firms, small businesses, global NGOs, Fortune 500 companies and more, all leveraging art to create a better world! In total, we have created in over a dozen American states and six countries, and love to travel. We estimate we've created about 300 pavement murals to date, ranging in size from four square feet to four thousand.

People creating vibrant chalk art on a city street during daytime.

Our mission and future

Our business has grown exponentially ever year since our journey began. We look forward to continuing collaborations, fostering new connections, and persistently and joyfully advocating for safer and healthier cities with vibrant pavement art.

Chalk Riot believes that pavement is the world’s greatest canvas for art that unites, protects, and energizes the cities we love.

Our Core Values

We produce our best work when we are connected to our why, and invite clients and collaborators with whom we are aligned.

  • It might sound silly, but if your sidewalk could talk, what would it say? If you want to have a positive impact on your community, start there.

  • Chalk Riot’s name was born with the acknowledgement that art can shift and influence culture, and be used as a force for good. The history of public chalk art is surprisingly radical! Early policing of public space against art was the suppression of political cartoons drawn on the sidewalk in the early 19th century. Muralists from cathedrals used chalk art as a means to teach Biblical stories and literacy skills to economic classes of people who were barred from entry. Suffragists used chalk to advertise underground meetings. Keith Haring used chalk in New York City subways in the 1980s to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic. Our name pays homage to the fact that our art form was defined by people committed to positive change with art.

  • You’d think we would be enemies with the rain, but we have a surprisingly cordial relationship. Working in the elements makes us more connected to them. As a result, we draw lots of inspiration from the natural world around us, which you’ll see in our art. We are aware that all sidewalk upon which we create are on land that was once wild, and we have to honor that.

  • At times, this one can be difficult to practice. It’s so easy to assume we know everything as individuals, especially when we’re surrounded by like-minded people. But, we can rise above misunderstanding when we ask provocative questions and practice mindful listening. A more curious society is a more empathetic society.

  • Working sometimes in the transportation sector, we work with institutions and organizers aiming to decrease traffic violence. But, we know that a street that has minimal traffic violence could still be a street with gender-based street harassment, racist encounters, tons of litter, or inaccessible walkways and public transit. We must pay attention to all of these if we wish to truly make our streets safer for ALL.

  • “Use it or lose it” in this context means using our constitutional freedom of speech — with art — and doing so in public space. As women and gender queer people, we also believe that merely the act of creation of any imagery can be construed as a political act. But we didn’t create that concept.

  • In DC, we exist in the middle of a strange venn diagram where federal, District and ward boundaries overlap. We know all about public space being overly surveilled, leading to more harm than safety. Art should be plentiful and uncensored. Public space should be for everyone, not only specific groups of people or demographics.

  • You never know when inspiration could strike. Chalk serves as a door into the portal of our creative freedom.