Join Clockshop for their 4th Annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival. This year’s festival will celebrate multicultural kite traditions at Los Angeles State Historic Park on Saturday, May 11, 2024 from 2:00–6:00 PM. As part of our inaugural kite commission program, our 2024 artist, Stevie Choi, will be creating three unique Korean kites to bring awareness to animal species native to Los Angeles whose continued existence is threatened by urban and industrial development such as the North American cougar, El Segundo butterfly, and the Least Bell’s vireo. For the first time, a kite competition will take place, inviting attendees to compete for the best handmade kite, judged by kite masters.

This all-ages, family-friendly cultural festival brings together diverse communities in Los Angeles through the art of kites and a day of joyful connection in this important public green space. Clockshop invites attendees to participate in free arts workshops, enjoy live music, and meet local community organizations to learn about their work in the nearby neighborhoods. The Kite Festival is designed as a celebration to honor the communities surrounding Los Angeles State Historic Park that fought for and steward this public parkland, recognizing their resilience, cultural histories, and aspirations.

Clockshop encourages attendees to make their own kites or visit the ‘eco-friendly kite options’ section here for suggestions on where to purchase or make kites ahead of the event. In an effort to limit plastic waste, a kite vendor will not be present at the event and instead, we will provide a very limited number of donation based ready-to-assemble kites on a first-come, first-served basis.

This event is free and open to the public. Clockshop suggests a $5 donation to support our free public programming and artist commissions.

4TH ANNUAL PEOPLE’S KITE FESTIVAL DESIGNER: YAEUN STEVIE CHOI

Yaeun Stevie Choi, “Fight for Flight,” Bangpaeyeon Korean Fighter Kite (Edition of 3), 2024. Metalized BoPET film, acrylic paint, bamboo, 24 x 32 inches.

Artist Yaeun Stevie Choi created three large-scale Bangpaeyeon, a traditional Korean fighter kite known for its distinct bowed rectangular form and a central vent. The sails are made of metalized BoPET film, used to protect equipment, perishables, and bodies, and the artist’s designs emerge where the aluminum coating is stripped away. Each kite represents a species endemic to Los Angeles currently threatened by privatization and development: the Least Bell’s vireo songbird, the El Segundo blue butterfly, and the La Tuna Puma, a North American cougar in the connectivity area between the San Gabriel and Verdugo mountain ranges.

A diasporic Korean artist living in Los Angeles, Choi connects the colonial legacies in Korea to the ongoing processes of environmental degradation in her new home. The Bangpaeyeon was deployed in the 1500s to communicate during invasions, and later as an everyday craft and object of play. When the kites were banned under the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 1900s, kite makers continued to craft them, such as Noh Yoo-Sang, who constructed a kite honoring the Siberian tiger, a native species and national symbol systematically eradicated during the occupation. Choi works within these historical precedents where land is connected to its people and their liberatory struggle against dispossession and extraction. In “Fight for Flight,” the Korean fighter kite, a symbol of agency and defiance, becomes a vehicle for ecological protest. To quote Palestinian anthropologist and engineer Dr. Hadeel Assali, “We cannot have environmental justice without reversing the harms of colonialism.”

Special thanks to Erin Min.

ARTS WORKSHOPS

Natural Dyeing with Meztli Projects
Experience the making of natural dyes from acorn and oak galls! Foraged by Meztli Projects, participants will learn how to lure out the tannins and colors from these two plants in the dyeing process. Participants will customize their dyed bandanas with stamped designs that commemorate three honored relatives: the El Segundo blue butterfly, the Least Bell’s vireo songbird, and the North American cougar native to this region.

Meztli Projects is an Indigenous arts and culture collaborative centering Indigeneity within the creative practice of Tovaangar (Los Angeles) through arts-based strategies such as artist projects, public programs, and cohort-based apprenticeships to highlight Native and Indigenous artists and systems-impacted youth. In partnership with First Peoples (Acjachemen, Chumash, Tataviam, and Tongva Tribal Nations), Meztli Projects work demands constant reinvestigation of their presence as Indigenous guests to best embody kinship and reciprocity.

Koinobori (Carp Streamer) with Zoé Blue M.
Learn how to make Koinobori, meaning carp streamer, with artist Zoé Blue M! Found all throughout Japan in celebration of Children’s Day in early May, the form resembles koi (carp), a fish that swims upstream and is a symbol of unwavering courage, strength, and perseverance. With roots in the early Edo period, Koinobori was traditionally painted black and has since evolved into multicolored streamers flying throughout the skies as a wish for future generations. Participants will personalize their own streamers with watercolor inks and see the koi “swim” in the wind.

Zoé Blue M. is a Japanese-American painter whose multicultural identity influences her images, often incorporating the visual landscapes and histories found in and throughout Los Angeles, Japan, and the south of France. Through large-scale paintings, she employs a meditative investigation of multicultural psychology and womanhood through examinations of painting and printmaking histories, materiality, folklore, spiritual philosophies, and personal memory. Recent exhibitions include Anat Ebgi, Jeffrey Deitch, Page NYC, and PM/AM. Zoé Blue M. graduated from the MFA Painting and Drawing program at UCLA.

PRINT PROGRAM

View English / español Program here.
View English / 中文 Program here. 

ACCESSIBILITY

Arrival
Los Angeles State Historic Park is located at 1245 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, directly adjacent to Chinatown and the Metro Gold Line. The park is located just 1 mile away from Los Angeles Union Station, making it accessible from several Metro routes. We highly recommend using public transportation, rideshare, biking, or carpooling. 

Parking
Parking at Los Angeles State Historic Park is extremely limited. There are two paid parking options at the park, both of which are on a first-come, first-served basis: the Main Parking Lot (1543 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012) and overflow lots operated by a third-party vendor for a flat fee of $20. Please consider reserving these spots for families with young children and those with limited mobility. If you are able-bodied and are not accompanying young children, consider using street parking or, better, public transportation. If parking on the street, please avoid street parking to the South and East of N. Main Street; this is a dense residential area and street parking needs to be reserved for residents.

Restrooms
Several portapotties will be available on site. The park’s main restrooms will be unavailable for the duration of the festival.

SUPPORT

Sponsors
Arts in California Parks
American Business Bank
Department of Cultural Affairs
LA City Councilmember Eunissess Hernandez (CD-1)
LA County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis (SD-1)
Resources Legacy fund
Sieroty Company
Sierra Club

Partners
California State Parks
California Arts Council
Parks California
Arts District Community Council
LA Parks Alliance
LA River State Park Partners

This event is made possible by Arts in California Parks Program, a California State Parks program created in partnership with California Arts Council and Parks California. Additional support comes from our event sponsors, lead Clockshop Circle donors, and the generous support of our broader community.