What would your flag say? Visit the DC History Center to participate in an activist graffiti workshop!
For over a decade, Matt Pavesich, Director of the Johns Hopkins University Writing Program, has documented more than 1,000 creative adaptations of the DC flag—revealing how residents use its iconic stars and bars to speak up, reimagine identity, and claim space.
On Sunday, March 15, we’re inviting you to join the conversation. Explore this living archive of creative resistance and civic pride, then design your own remixed DC flag inspired by something that matters to you.
Matt Pavesich has lived in Washington, DC since 2011, where he taught writing at Georgetown University from 2011 through 2021 before becoming director of the Johns Hopkins University Writing Program in 2021. His research and teaching focus on writing and the public humanities.
DC/ADAPTERS is a public research project that documents creative adaptations to the design of the DC flag. With over 1,000 unique findings collected over more than 10 years, it’s clear that the District loves its flag and has lots to say with and through it. It’s also clear that flag adaptation is a powerful local visual language.