DF Touring Exhibits

The Drachen Foundation compiles traveling exhibits of kites and kite related items, which can be rented for exhibition by organizations.

The Guidelines are as follows:

Payment of $500 to secure a booking date.
Payment of rental fee, in full, before exhibit is shipped.
Payment of shipping to and from The Drachen Foundation.
Certificate of Insurance Coverage (in the name of The Drachen Foundation).
Credit given to The Drachen Foundation on all press and printed materials for the exhibition.

Please contact the Foundation at (206) 282-4349, by fax at (206) 284-5471,
or email at information@drachen.org for more information about these exhibits.

click on image or title for more information

About Kites
The About Kites panels were originally a set of posters describing kite basics and historical kiting events developed by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services. Permission for use has been granted by SITES.
Special offer:
Free for three months to schools and non profit organizations.

Japanese Kites: A Tradition for All Ages
Kites have been the subject of the life of the Japanese for centuries. This collection of 40 Japanese kites from different times and kite makers throughout Japan is one of the most colorfully delightful displays to introduce visitors to the art and culture of the Japanese.

Japanese Kite Prints
The urban culture of seventeenth and eighteenth century Edo (now Tokyo) was complex, vibrant, literate and sophisticated. We have an extensive visual record of the times through color ukiyo-e, woodblock prints. They celebrated the kabuki theater, brothels, sumo wrestling and everyday pleasures, including kite flying. This exhibit highlights Japanese culture, art, and history through ukiyo-e tied together by the common thread of kite line - all the images include kites as a critical element to tell a greater story.

Kites of Kyushu
Like all kites from Japan, those from Japan's southern island of Kyushu represent a variety of kite-making traditions. Although the different forms and functions of specific kites may vary, what remains consistent is the artistry with which they are crafted.

Kites Over the Floating World
Kites have been the subject of the life of the Japanese for centuries. Using traditional ukiyo-e prints from the Scott Skinner Collection, this exhibition showcases the images of the kites.

Kites to Kitty Hawk
In celebration of the centennial of flight, this exhibit chronicles the kites and their inventors as they move toward the goal of man powered flight. From early pioneers in Europe and the United States, we celebrate the final achievement of taking to the air with the Wright Brothers and their first flight at Kitty Hawk

Mini Kites: World on a Thread
Worldwide, kites can be made with a variety of materials: a simple leaf, paper and wood, silk and bamboo, plastic and fiberglass or almost any combination of the above. Miniature kites are no exception and serve to test their makers' ingenuity and their materials' limits. This exhibit takes you on a tour of the smaller kite---a collection of the world's finest flying miniatures.

Paper in Flight
The art kites in the exhibition Paper in Flight demonstrate the utility, strength, and beauty of Japanese handmade paper, long associated with the renowned Japanese kite-making tradition. However, these kites are anything but ordinary. Each artist pursued his or her own approach, exploring unusual formats, innovative structures, unorthodox combinations of materials, and unique subject matter. While nodding to tradition, these kites are flying sculptures, engineered for flight and inventive statements of art intended for the sky.

Surf the Wind
The feeling of kites outside brought inside! A bird's eye view of the excitement of kiting! Move through history and feel the contemporary excitement of the sport of kites today! Then take charge and experiment with making and testing your own creations at the Wall of Wind.

Theater of the Sky
This exhibit brings a masterpiece Japanese print (ukiyo-e) to life for the 21 st century. Interpretive panels tell the story of twin manias—for theater and for kites—in 19 th-century Japan, as reflected in a famous woodblock print from 1864, with the faces of kabuki actors on kites. Japanese kite maker Mikio Toki reconfigures these traditions by painting the same images on 23 full-size (3’x2’) kites. A salute to the vibrancy of Japanese artistic tradition—and a special opportunity for kite enthusiasts to appreciate the work of a contemporary kite master.

The Writer Way: The Kites of Harold Writer
Some of the best kites in the world come from the attic of a hobbyist. Harold Writer took his boyhood passion to the furthest extent. Study the simple but artistic craftsmanship of an individual who worked after hours to create some of the best flying kites of wood and ripstop.