Undocumented Youth Take Over the National Mall With Kites [Photos]

Puerto Rican-born artist Miguel Luciano helps undocumented youth take flight over the National Mall.

By Jorge Rivas Dec 07, 2012

[CultureStrike](http://culturestrike.net/), the national arts and activism group, teamed up with undocumented youth and NY-based artist [Miguel Luciano ](http://)to hold a kite-based symbolic public art project in Washington D.C. The kites were flown over the National Mall and the White House by a group of undocumented youth and self-described DREAMers on Friday. Organizers say the kite project embodies a simple statement: "The desire for freedom and dignity is universal, and the natural human need to migrate can’t be suppressed." The Puerto Rican-born Luciano worked with a number of undocumented youth to create large-scale kites emblazoned with their life-size self-portraits, to soar symbolically over a political arena where immigration issues have still not been humanely addressed. "While the kites can physically transcend a fence or border from the sky, they can also address non-physical borders metaphorically," [Luciano told the CultureStrike blog.](http://culturestrike.net/flying-above-borders) "It is a symbolic action to raise our own images into the sky and celebrate our dreams, desires, and indeed our right to fly and be free. These are universal desires, and can be applied to community struggles throughout the world."