Hampton Bays Middle School students in Kathy Dayton’s art classes have been hard at work making kites for the annual Southampton Chamber of Commerce “Kites for a Cure” fundraiser.

The 50 nylon kites decorated by students, which were provided by the Kites for a Cure Foundation, will be on display at the Hampton Bays Middle School from Tuesday, May 17 through Thursday, May 19, and will then be delivered to the Southampton Chamber of Commerce for the annual kite fly for Uniting Against Lung Cancer. The family kite fly benefitting lung cancer research will be held on Saturday, May 28, at Coopers Beach in Southampton at 4 p.m.

In creating the kites, students were inspired by the artwork of Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Keith Haring, and Georgia O’Keeffe,  among others. The kites were colored in using opaque paint markers. The pieces of kite artwork, which will also hang in Southampton shopfronts prior to the actual fly, will be for sale through donation for the fundraising event.

The art class project stemmed from a districtwide initiative to foster community awareness and the concept of giving back, according to Ms. Dayton. So far this year, middle school students have also participated in a town-wide Earth Day cleanup, created Houses for Haiti lapel pins, and raised funds for breast cancer awareness.