Thousand Kites is a national multi-media arts project created to spark a dialog about incarceration in the United States. The project uses film, theater, radio, and the Internet to explore the criminal justice system and bridge racial, cultural, and geographic divides between stakeholder communities.

Their national radio program — Calls from Home – features families speaking directly to their loved ones behind bars. They have also just launched a new program in Louisville KY.

Linda Frye Burnham writes about their unique community arts work in a CAN report about their 2-day Summit last October. Thousand Kites is a project of the Appalachian-based media arts and education center Appalshop.

“kite” is prison slang for a letter or message.