The Chester Art Crawl will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 3 to 10 p.m. in Chester’s historic Overtown neighborhood, featuring many of Swarthmore’s close community partners. The city’s thriving arts community will welcome attendees to explore exhibits, participate in workshops, enjoy live music, and visit art studios, galleries, and performance centers.

Students who RSVP via this link can take a round trip bus to the Art Crawl at no cost. The bus will depart campus at 6 p.m. and return at 9 p.m.

The vibrant, community-based celebration of the arts brings together Chester-Overtown residents, event organizers, and business owners alongside Swarthmore College students, faculty, and staff. The Art Crawl, which began in one small gallery, now has artists traveling from across the country to be a part of it.

“The Art Crawl boasts an entire arts community complete with several galleries, restaurants, studio apartments for artists, and much more,” says Chester artist and organizer Devon Walls, who has been collaborating with the College for almost a decade. “It’s a reflection of Chester pride and collaborations with partners such as Swarthmore College and the Lang Center, who stepped up to help support and organize this and many other events.”

Works by Walls, a multi-media painter from Chester, will be featured alongside artists including contemporary artists Bariq Cobbs, Hayes McLeod, Kenneth Picasso, L Ward, Steve Bullock, Greg Irvin, and Marcielago, as well as the late artists Fred West and Andrew Turner, whose works are in the collections of Swarthmore College, Maya Angelou, and the late musician Prince. Black-and-white photographs from Associate Professor of Art Ron Tarver’s 2019 Foundations in Photography class will also be on display at Ark Gallery. Tarver’s class worked with Walls to photograph Chester and residents of the city, culminating the semester with an exhibition of prints on campus. Tarver’s fall photography class will present its own similar exhibition later this semester.

Portraits Made in Chester

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Devon Walls by Alyssa Ogle '22

Brian by Alyssa Ogle '22

Photo by Ron Tarver

Jeff by Miranda Roelandt '22

Photo by Jasmine Moore '20

Larry "Steeplehead" by Miranda Roelandt '22

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"Many at Swarthmore consider the Chester-Overtown neighborhood a kind of second campus because it houses so many dynamic community partners – not only in arts and culture but also education, environmental justice, technology, public health, public policy, community development, and others,” says Ben Berger, associate professor of political science and executive director of The Lang Center. “We appreciate the neighborhood’s emphasis on local ownership and leadership."

About the Lang Center at Swarthmore College

The Eugene M. Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility facilitates Swarthmore College’s commitment to intellectual rigor, ethical engagement, and social responsibility by connecting three C’s: curriculum, campus, and communities. Through its support, students, faculty, and staff across the disciplines have developed transformative partnerships in Chester. The Lang Center’s signature programs in Chester include the Chester Semester Fellowship, which pairs students with Chester-based organizations and partners; the Chester Community Fellowship; Dare 2 Soar; and Environmental Justice & Community Resilience.