Celebrate Soulfully has taken over the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort this month with live music, new menu items, and artmaking. Among the new art installations around the district is a beautiful set of chalk art pieces by artist Marcella “Marci” Swett. Let’s take a look at some of her amazing artwork created just for Celebrate Soulfully!
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Swett is a Disney Live Entertainment Senior Production artist who has spent the past month bringing her artmaking talents to the streets of the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort. The Disney Parks Blog spoke to Swett who shared some more details on her background as an artist, “From creating murals, to working at Disney Imagineering, to teaching high school art, to running an art gallery –– I’ve done a bit of everything when it comes to visual art.”
Making chalk art has offered a way for Swett to express her creativity while escaping the pressures of daily life. In addition to works of art she has created all around Disney Parks and resorts, Swett’s work can be spotted in multiple cities across California and at special events and festivals. Swett shared her thoughts on the excitement of bringing this type of art to the Disneyland Resort, and especially for its inclusion during Black History Month, “Just after three years of pursuing this individually and seeing if we could initiate some kind of chalk into Disneyland, the opportunity came up for Black History Month … I was very thankful.”
The chalk art Swett has created this month was largely inspired by celebrations of Black culture, with designs based on everything from jazz music to braided hairstyles. “I did one celebrating braids, one about the emphasis of jazz music in the 1950s and the origin of modernism, and one of an afro that lent itself to the CROWN Act,” says Swett. (The CROWN act is a California law that bans discrimination based on hairstyles.)
The best part about creating chalk art around the Disneyland Resort? Since people from around the corner and around the world visit the Disneyland Resort, so people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds are able to experience Swett’s art during their visit. Art is an inspiring way to bring people together, and artists like Swett are a huge part of this community element to artmaking at Disneyland and in cities throughout California.
Swett also shared her thoughts on the experience saying, “To be able to leave a mark by educating individuals on matters that they had no idea about, and to hear that they will share the knowledge with others is a wonderful experience. Just to know that you’re planting seeds is one of my biggest joys in life.”
