Via Colori is back from the dead.

The event, in which beautiful art is created by chalk on pavement, will be back on Sept. 8 and 9 after an initial cancellation. The name translates to “colorful path.”
Children’s Hospital had initially agreed to sponsor the event, but eventually pulled out.

“For a variety of reasons, they let us know this past mid-July that they weren’t going to do it,” says Rick Compton, the founder and owner of Via Colori.

Compton says they had already signed 120 artists at that point, so he immediately flew to Columbus to find someone to pick up the torch. He spoke with the Ohio Historical Society.

“They considered it and were unable to come to a positive decision within three weeks,” Compton said. “So, I closed negotiations and announced its cancellation for this year.”

After the announcement came, the arts community flooded Compton with e-mails, lamenting the death of the event, while others proposed alternatives.

“I realized that the arts community needed this event and I was willing to do anything to make Via Colori happen in Columbus this year, so I called Mary Martineau, who is the marketing director for the North Market and within a day or two, we had formulated a plan so that a kind of informal Via Colori would occur,” he said.

Martineau says the artists from Via Colori “supported the event and me in Via Colori’s initial years and I feel like, if they are committed to it and want to see it revived, it’s my role to help them in return for the amazing art they created that made the event a success in my tenure as its director.”

This year will be a bit more informal than previous Via Colori events. There are no sponsors. Squares are not being lined off on the street. There’s no stage.

“We have, of course, waived all fees and we are contributing all of the pastels to the event,” says Compton.

Compton says Columbus deserves a real Via Colori and next year, they’ll get one. Via Colori National is going to set up a foundation that will hire a local executive director. That person will be responsible for organizing Via Colori.

All of the net proceeds from Columbus’ Via Colori will be divided up among possibly four non-profit agencies, such as an arts organization, a health organization, an animal rights organization, or other similar causes, Compton says.

“We are looking for suggestions for agencies from the arts community and others because it’s the arts community that makes this thing work,” he says.

Compton went on to mention that the event is never a competition, and all the art that gets done is appropriate for public family viewing.

“Columbus is my favorite, “says Compton. "I went to school there, but really the arts community in Columbus is so irrepressible. The fact that Columbus is so into this very transient medium to me speaks volumes about love of art and love of creation.”