Willoughby Arts Collaborative's Chalkfest to feature David Zinn
Jun. 10—Among the attendees this year at the Willoughby Arts Collaborative's third annual Chalkfest, held during the Last Stop Willoughby event, will be David Zinn.
Both events are scheduled for Aug. 12 in downtown Willoughby.
Since 1987, Zinn has been creating original artwork in and around Ann Arbor, Mich. For more than 20 years, he has freelanced for a wide variety of commercial clients while simultaneously sneaking "pointless" art into the world at large.
According to his website, www.zinnart.com, Zinn's professional commissions include theatrical posters, business logos, educational cartoons, landfill murals, environmental superheroes, corporate allegories and hand-painted dump trucks. Additionally, his less practical creations have involved bar coasters, restaurant placemats, cake icing and snow.
Zinn is now known worldwide for the art he creates. His temporary street drawings are composed entirely of chalk, charcoal and found objects, and are improvised on location. Most of his creatures appear on sidewalks in Michigan, but many have surfaced in subway platforms in Manhattan, village squares in Sweden and street corners in Taiwan.
The Willoughby Arts Collaborative's Chalkfest found success in 2021, its inaugural year. The charitable nonprofit has since brought it back in conjunction with Heart of Willoughby's Last Stop Willoughby event. Last year, seven or eight artists chalked throughout downtown on select buildings. Children also had the opportunity to chalk on the sidewalk in front of the Willoughby Public Library. Prizes for first, second and third place were offered.
Last Stop Willoughby has been held since 2008. It gets its name from a season one episode of the "Twilight Zone" called "A Stop at Willoughby." The episode first aired May 6, 1960. The episode is screened at the library throughout the day of the event.
