Welcome! This is an archived call for participation for a socially-engaged project from October 2020–January 2021. We are no longer actively seeking submissions, but you are free to adapt the instructions below as a DIY (do it yourself) activity. Look for our tips, highlighted in yellow.

Think about a time when you faced a challenge and overcame it. Let’s reflect on it. What strategies did you use? Who supported you? How did you cope, adapt, reframe, or overcome? Having a resilient mindset supports a positive attitude and openness to new experiences, which can foster personal growth. We invite you to reflect on and commemorate resilience—a key aspect of your well-being. The study of well-being is positive psychology, a subject explored in the work of Between You and Me artist Christine Wong Yap.  
 
Wong Yap’s How I Keep Looking Up: Flags of Resilience project invites us to commemorate the sources of our resilience in a flag. Flags use simplified visual language with the potential for deeper symbolic and personal meanings. Reflecting on your strengths and designing a flag can boost your mood and offer opportunities for flow and connection.  

Steps for Designing Your Flag

Step 1
Think about your resilience: How do you get back up when life knocks you down? Where did your resilience come from: people, places, experiences, or activities? (Tip: If this seems abstract, think of a specific adversity you encountered and coped with in healthy ways. How did you learn to cope that way? If you need more ideas, visit these pages for sample flags and additional questions.)  

Step 2
Think of images or symbols to represent your sources of resilience. 

Step 3
Draw a design for a flag on a piece of 8.5×11-inch paper (it doesn’t have to fill the page—you can make the flag any size or shape on the page).
Tips:
– Try to use simple shapes and symbols. 
– Think about the symbolic use of color. 
– Try to avoid or limit text.

If you’d like to submit your flag design to Christine Wong Yap, you can use this google form.

Step 4 (optional)
Turn your design into a flag. If you or someone you know has sewing skills, sew it into a flag. Or, create a collage from paper.

What will happen with the submitted flag designs? 
Between October 2020–December 2021, flag designs were shared with experienced sewers to be transformed into 3×5-foot flags. The selected flags are on exhibit in the Social STUDIO through February 2021. A zine may include photographed or scanned designs, reproduced in full or part and edited for clarity and concision at the discretion of the lead artist. Participants will receive a copy of the finished zine.

From January 2021, the project has shifted into the exhibition phase. Christine has no current plans to sew additional flag designs, but may continue the project in the future if opportunities arise.