LONG ISLAND CITY, NY.- Socrates Sculpture Park and The Noguchi Museum are proud to present the seventh annual kite making workshop and flying event. This free hands-on workshop will take place at Socrates Sculpture Park and welcomes children of all ages to participate. Using recycled paper, children and their families can draw inspiration from the Park’s fantastic view of the Manhattan skyline to build and decorate a kite, and then fly it in the Park.

Advance registration is not required, but space is limited, so come early! The workshop is free and will be held - rain or shine - in the education area at Socrates Sculpture Park. All materials and supplies will be provided.

Founded by Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) in 1985 and occupying a renovated 1927 industrial building, The Noguchi Museum helped pioneer the transformation of Long Island City into an arts destination. The Museum exhibits a comprehensive selection of the artist’s works in all mediums, displayed in a series of indoor galleries and an internationally celebrated outdoor sculpture garden. Together, this installation and the Museum’s special exhibitions expand the context for Noguchi’s work and illuminate his influential legacy of innovation. From 11 am – 6 pm, Kite Flight attendees can cross the street to view two special exhibitions: From Plaster to Stone and What is Sculpture?, as well as artworks from the Museum’s collection.

Socrates Sculpture Park was an abandoned riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite until 1986 when a coalition of artists and community members, under the leadership of sculptor Mark di Suvero, transformed it into an open studio and exhibition space for artists and a neighborhood park for local residents. Today, it is an internationally renowned outdoor museum and artist residency program that also serves as a vital New York City park offering a wide variety of free public programs. The Park’s existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity and improvement of our urban
environment.

Kite Flight: Paper Play participants will get an early glimpse of Socrates Sculpture Park’s spring exhibition, State Fair. The show, officially opening in the Park on Sunday, May 10, 2009, centers around American rural life and uses the platform of the state fair as a means to examine topics such as animal husbandry, specialized horticulture, small scale farming, culinary arts and pageantry within these fields that occurs at fairgrounds across the country. The show will also incorporate work that references traditional craft, and the myriad of amusements, rides, competitions and entertainment that are presented as part of state fairs.