The B!G TV
BIG ART (Calgary, CA)
Find it at: Cleveland Square Park
At the intersection of nostalgia and state-of-the-art technology is the B!G TV, a 25-foot interactive installation by BIG ART. Whether you want to flash back to childhood with classic El Paso videos on a retro analog TV or make new memories with live performances and custom-made channels, this larger-than-life installation is unmissable. In addition to the screen and built-in stage, the B!G TV features working dials, sliders, and cameras so that attendees can be a part of the magic.
BIG ART exists to ignite imagination and wonder through large-scale, interactive, and immersive public art installations. With a purpose rooted in inspiring creativity, they craft experiences that captivate audiences, spark curiosity, and transform public spaces into vibrant playgrounds for exploration. From fire-shooting portals to code-talking cubes from another dimension, BIG ART fuses the technology of yesterday, today, and tomorrow to bring bold artistic visions to life.
In addition to fun content playing throughout the festival hours, The B!G TV will feature free special activities including:
- Low-sensory content for quiet hours (Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 12pm)
- Baby Rave kids dance party (Saturday and Sunday, 12:30pm to 2pm)
- Screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox (Saturday, 6:30pm)
Special thanks to Kristin Sanchez at EPCC for archival content collaboration!
Image Credit: Friends of BIG ART
Image Credit: Miguel Mendoza / Courtesy of Nómada Estudio Urbano
Desert Playgola
Nómada Estudio Urbano (Ciudad Juárez, Chih., MX)
Find it at: Main Street
Desert Playgola reimagines the traditional pergola—a familiar form of shelter in the desert—as an interactive environment for exploration, free play and social connection. Inspired by the colors, vegetation, and visual character of the Chihuahuan Desert, its modular wood structure brings together filtered shade, hanging desert faces, tactile pool-noodle and iridescent-curtain passages, desert-inspired entrance crowns and artificial-turf pallet seating. Desert Playgola celebrates the idea that public space is not meant to remain empty—it is a shared canvas to be filled with art, play and human connection.
Nómada Estudio Urbano is a multidisciplinary urban design and placemaking practice based in the Ciudad Juárez–El Paso border region. The studio develops public-space interventions, temporary installations and participatory experiences that connect people with place through playful, culturally grounded and site-responsive design.
River Memory Wall
Mitsu Overstreet (El Paso, TX)
Find it at: Arts Festival Plaza
A custom-created installation from El Paso artist Mitsu Overstreet, River Memory Wall is comprised of a six-panel folding screen, gilded in faux gold leaf with a flowing river motif, that doubles as an interactive chalkboard. Visitors are invited to draw directly onto the surface, adding their own marks to a collective portrait of the city. In partnership with the Borderlands Digital Humanities Center at UTEP, those contributions will be documented and preserved in a digital archive, extending the piece beyond the festival weekend into a lasting record of community memory.
Mitsu Overstreet is a multidisciplinary public artist, designer, and educator based in El Paso, Texas, whose work merges large-scale environmental graphics, terrazzo, sculpture, and interactive technology into installations exploring memory, ecology, and cultural identity along the U.S.–Mexico border. His work has been commissioned by airports, museums, botanical gardens, and civic institutions nationwide.
Image Credit: Mitsu Overstreet
Image Credit: Michael Woznicki
Trash to Treasure x ESD
Michael Woznicki (WOZ ART) (El Paso, TX)
Find it at: El Paso Street
A festival mainstay in partnership with the El Paso Environmental Services Department (ESD), Trash to Treasure brings extra color and joy to Chalk the Block! Painted by El Paso-based artist Michael Woznicki (WOZ ART), these 5 bins are called “Elements” and will be at work during the event. Come admire the bright scenes and vibrant colors of the Chihuahuan Desert—while working with the community to keep our festival space clean for everyone. The piece is dictated to the five elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, and Love. It is a call to preserve, respect, and cultivate these essential elements for life.
Michael Woznicki (WOZ ART) is an artist based in El Paso, TX. His artistic style is influenced by skateboarding, graffiti, and modern art from the Bay Area, CA. Through those influences, he creates his own style of El Paso/ Borderland Texas art. His style is a fusion of his background with the desert, Mexican-American folk art, and general feel of the region. His previous artistic work includes a recent solo show at the International Museum of Art.
The Doors
BIG ART (Calgary, CA)
Find it at: San Jacinto Plaza
Joining the B!G TV from BIG ART, are The Doors, located around San Jacinto Plaza at the heart of Chalk the Block. The Doors are a BIG ART classic and fan-favorite, regardless of age. Each door contains a set of animations in a particular theme, direct from the creative minds of the BIG ART animators. No two doors are ever the same with over 200 unique videos. The installation invites attendees to explore the symbolism of a door, considering both opportunity and uncertainty.
Image Credit: Friends of BIG ART