This month street painters — Madonnari in Italian — take to downtown San Rafael’s pavement for Italian Street Painting Marin’s (ISPM) annual event. 2014’s main attraction will be supplemented by ISPM’s biyearly Pop-Up Gallery, where 22 Madonnari will create works focused on a chosen theme: California in the 1940’s. “My favorite year so far was 2003, when artists re-created Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling on the streets of San Rafael,” says Executive Member of ISPM, Sue Carlomagno. “I think this year we will experience a piece of California history through the eyes of our Madonnari that will equal that experience, at least for me.” Expect colorful images celebrating everything 1940’s California, from national icons like Rosie the Riveter to local moments in history, like the first days of the Rafael Theatre. italianstreetpaintingmarin.org
