Chalkupy LA – Climate Change

Chalkupy began a little while after Occupy Oakland was forcibly removed from Oscar Grant Plaza and the City power-washed the word OCCUPY from the pavers. A group of us decided to put it back. Every week the city washed our chalk away and every Friday afternoon for a year, Chalkupy was back with a new design. Designs are mapped to a grid using a giant, handmade compass, triangles, t-squares, snap lines, etc. Everybody and anybody is welcome to work on the billboard sized picture and over the years hundreds of people have participated. Chalkupy continues in Oakland and has traveled to LA, Davis CA, San Francisco and Baltimore.

Chalkupy takes suggestions for designs and chalks for a number of causes. Chalkupy is always political. Chalking is one of the few means of publicly expressing of dissent that has not been deemed illegal. When people get arrested for chalking, Chalkupy comesand chalk their displeasure, reminding law enforcement that we don’t need permission to exercise our First Amendment rights. Long live the First Amendment!

For VisionLA ’15, Chalkupy will feature a climate change awareness infographic designed by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

See www.facebook.com/chalkupyla/ for updates and rain information.