In 2013, a few friends with a box of sidewalk chalk started drawing in parking lots. They weren’t looking to start a business. They just wanted to share some color and joy with the people around them. That small spark became Chalk Riot, a mural art company now known across the country for its vibrant pavement designs.
Chalk Riot’s founder, Chelsea Ritter-Soronen, founded the company in St. Louis, Missouri. Since then, she’s moved the company to Napa, California, and now to Washington, D.C., where the team continues to grow. What began as doodles on sidewalks is now a full-time creative team working with major cities, global nonprofits, and even Fortune 500 companies.
But their mission goes beyond chalk and paint. Chalk Riot believes the ground we walk on can connect us, protect us, and make us feel something. Their murals help calm traffic, beautify neighborhoods, and start conversations. They’ve created more than 300 pieces in over a dozen states and six countries.
Their crew is entirely composed of women and nonbinary artists. Caring deeply about the planet, defeating patriarchy, and building stronger communities, they offer chalk art training to youth groups, peacebuilders, and community organizers.
Their art is more than just decoration—it changes how people see the world around them. Chalk Riot reminds us that even something as simple as sidewalk chalk can bring people together, make streets safer, and inspire others to make their mark. Sometimes, all it takes is a little color on the ground.
Q&A with Chalk Riot: On Color, Courage, and Creating from the Ground Up
Q: Let’s start at the beginning. Chalk Riot didn’t start as a business—how did it grow into one?
A: Honestly, it started as friends with some sidewalk chalk and desire to connect with our city. We were doodling in parking lots, drawing for fun on sidewalks, sharing color on whatever surfaces we could. My favorite part was seeing a city I’d lived in for years with an entirely new perspective, and I found that very motivating. Eventually, someone asked, “How much would a commissioned chalk mural cost?” That was the shift. It went from something spontaneous and joyful to something that could have a real purpose—and a future. I soon found that there was a whole world of chalk artists and chalk art festivals, and became obsessed!
Q: You describe your art as a form of connection. Where does that idea come from?
A: When you work on the ground, people don’t have to go somewhere to see your work. It’s not in a gallery. It’s where they walk, bike, or wait for a bus. They stumble across it. It makes them pause. That accessibility matters. The sidewalk is a canvas we all share. And history shows that chalk art has long been used as an effective and poignant form of visual storytelling, whether by graffiti artists in the subway, or suffragists marking the way to underground meetings, and some of the first political cartoons.
Q: What does “inspiration” look like to you—both giving and receiving it?
A: For me, I’m most inspired by the ebb and flow of urban histories, because we’re all a part of that whether we realize it or not. The desire to help build and co-create towards a more sustainable and peaceful future keeps me motivated, and nature keeps me inspired. Our work is not always intentionally interactive per se, but the folks with whom we engage in conversation as we’re drawing always energize me. We try to pass that energy forward—by offering free and low-cost chalk training for groups doing good in their communities, and by hiring a consistent flow of emerging artists on our team. Gratitude is at the core of everything we do.
Q: What gave you the confidence to take the leap from a hobby to a career?
A: Confidence didn’t come first, curiosity did! There was never a five-year plan. We just kept saying “yes” to things that felt aligned, and we cultivated relationships with local arts organizations that were supportive of our vision. Along the way, we figured out how to talk to planners and developers, how to navigate permitting, how to make art that holds up varying degrees of weather and foot traffic. Each new challenge continues to teach us something that will allow us to work better, stronger and bigger on the next project.
Q: What’s a risk you’ve taken that changed your path?
A: Leaving St. Louis. That’s where we started, and where our first community was, but I knew that more opportunity and broader economic opportunity existed on the coasts. Life moved me west, then east, and instead of starting over each time, we saw it as a way to bring what we’d learned to new places. Moving around like this shaped my perspective that the ground is one of the only places that we all share worldwide, like the sea or sky. That mobility gave us a broader view of how public art can serve different communities. I wish every artist could move to another city once, just for the experience of plunging into a new market and seeing how that shifts a creative practice.
Q: You work in a male-dominated field—both in art and infrastructure. Has that shaped your journey?
A: Absolutely. Our crews are entirely women and nonbinary artists, and that’s not by accident. In a world where gender-based street harassment is a norm, we dig into our collective power by asserting ourselves in public space, simply by doing our job. Even in 2025, it is a frequent topic of conversation for passersby. People notice that there’s no men, because it is not the norm to see labor crews without them! We’ve also experienced gender-based street harassment on work sites ourselves, which only affirms how important our mission really is.
Q: How do you balance beauty and functionality in your work?
A: Each project is its own creative challenge on this front. Our industrial pavement murals are often meant to calm traffic and protect pedestrians, but they also need to be beautiful, joyful, and rooted in place. Before we sketch a single design, we study the site, meet with residents, learn and observe the traffic flow. A 4,000-square-foot mural isn’t just about what it looks like—it’s about who crosses it and how it makes them feel. Recently someone wrote us an email to share she had taken her wedding photos at our mural site, because it was the meeting spot for she and her husband’s first date. I hope all our murals can serve as backdrops for memories as well as functional protection.
Q: If someone wanted to start something—an art project, a creative business, a community effort—what would you tell them?
A: Start small and just keep showing up! The hardest part of any project or business is starting, because it can feel overwhelming, and imposter syndrome can definitely rear its ugly head. But the most important part is to remain humble and curious about how much there is to learn, and embrace that as an exciting opportunity! What a gift, to focus on something you love. Eventually you’ll find the right community of support, which is the real key to any successful endeavor.
Q: Final question: what keeps you going after more than a decade of this work?
A: The pavement changes. Cities change. Our bodies and their ability to work hard can fluctuate. But the chance to create something new never gets boring. Every new mural is a chance for a new conversation, and we’re still listening, asking, and exploring.
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