Uprising!
Organized by the Center for Tactical Magic
In Collaboration with Eva Strohmeier

UPRISING! is a community kite-making project that invites participants to design and build their own kites with a message they wish to communicate from up high. This contemporary twist on the ancient practice of aeromancy (divining messages from the sky) encourages people to rise above the dark clouds hovering overhead by unleashing their own messages upon the heavens. This aerial display is a visible demonstration of democracy and a multitude of voices in these dark times.

An ominous, black, cloud-shaped kite also haunts the skies. But fear not! A silver lining can still be found. Upon closer inspection, a skyward glance reveals the words, "Rise Up!" This enigmatic message-in-the-heavens at once commands the cloud-kite to perform its allotted task, and also suggests a course of action for onlookers. Trailing from beneath the cloud, a lightning bolt stirs the sky and brightens the scene with a second message: "All Power to the People!" The charged political rhetoric playfully dances in the wind, energizing and empowering those who might despair beneath the gloom and doom.

On a sunny, breezy March 6, community members from Huntington Beach and elsewhere joined artist Eva Strohmeier and the Center for Tactical Magic for a free kite-making workshop. Participants were assisted with kite construction, but no requirements or constraints were placed on people's choice of messages. Everyone who made a kite was invited to fly their message at the beach and to then display their kite on the sky-blue wall as part of the exhibition. The craft table opposite the kite wall provides an additional opportunity for visitors to join the fray.

To rise up & put a message in the sky simply download a kite pattern:

Wizard Kite Instructions - front (pdf)

Wizard Kite Instructions - back (pdf)

Sled Kite Instructions - front (pdf)

Sled Kite Instructions - back (pdf)

Paper Fold Kite Instructions - front (pdf)

Paper Fold Kite Instructions - back (pdf)

Click here to see more Uprising! pics from Huntington Beach and Cal State Long Beach.