Into Thick Air: Adapting Cultural Practices Into Solutions For Modern Wicked Problems

Into Thick Air argues that cultural practices can inspire solutions to challenging modern problems. This project employs the Basant festival as a case study to critically reimagine kite flying as a collective practice with the potential to contribute to the reduction of air pollution in Lahore, a city consistently ranked among those with the poorest air quality globally. By building kites from fabric treated with nanoparticle coatings, Into Thick Air transforms a traditional community activity into an accessible, citizen-driven method for removing pollutants from the air. The treated kites empower Lahoris to take charge of their environment while encouraging collective action and community-driven change. Into Thick Air proposes a framework for linking cultural practices to innovative solutions, demonstrating how local traditions can inspire effective responses to wicked problems.