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Kite Personalities - Michael Alvares |
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Michael Alvares has hit on a useful formula that might well be copied elsewhere. He uses kites to teach cultural history and break down prejudices born of geographic insularity. A teacher, Alvares brings the different cultures of the world right into his classroom. A wonderful showman, he doesn't take himself too seriously, concentrating instead on involving children in the whole process of kitemaking and flying. For him, kites are more fun than art. Alvares is known worldwide for his multi-cellular box kite decorated by students from across Australia. He is also one of the world's more avid kite stamp collectors, swapping information and items with other collectors around the world. Born and raised in Bombay where he became an expert in kite fighting from the rooftops of tall buildings, Alvares immigrated to Australia at age seventeen, trained as a graphic designer, married an Australian nurse and settled with her in her hometown, Perth, on the west coast of the continent. After a few years as a graphic designer learning how to deal with the commercial world, Alvares recalled his boyhood love of kites and used his expert knowledge of them to forge a unique community enterprise—and a vocation. Commissioned in the mid-1980s to do a kite project at a school, Alvares involved hundreds of pupils and their parents in the three-month project. From the enthusiasm generated, he realized he had hit on something perfectly suited to his talents. "I had done sculpture and painting besides graphic design," he says, "but kites kept me absorbed. I not only enjoyed what I was doing, I wanted to keep doing it." The formula Alvares hit upon is nicely illustrated by a kite Alvares conceived to celebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of Australia's independence in 1988. Alvares got fourteen schools in Perth involved. At each school, pupils decorated sails for the kite with Australian symbols. There were fifty cells altogether, thus two hundred sides. The kites were then linked together to create one large, multi-cellular boxkite. Symbols the children came up with were the boomerang and spear-thrower (Aboriginals), Sydney Opera House and Perth whaling station (architecture), kangaroo, platypus, emu and cockatoo (fauna), banksia and eucalyptus (flora) vegemite, damper bread, billy tea (food), cricket, tennis (sport) and so forth. Once assembled, the huge, complicated kite took a lot of parental help in launching and flying—thus involving adults as well as pupils in the project. The kite was featured at an international festival in Tasmania and since has been flown by Alvares around the world. "Kite diplomacy" he calls it. Although Australia looked to Europe for cultural antecedents for almost two centuries, its vital interests may be said to lie with its nearby Southeast Asian neighbors. As a native Asian, Alvares saw this point, and much of his focus at workshops is on the relationship between Australia and Asia—cultural, political, economic. The kite is the perfect link here. It's a traditional Asian cultural icon and plaything. Alvares also had a patriotic reason to feature kites—the ubiquitous box kite was invented by an Anglo-Australian, Lawrence Hargrave, at the turn of the last century. Alvares pointedly uses the box kite as his medium. It is not only relatively quick and easy to build, a reliable flier and dramatic in the air, but also has many nice square sails to decorate—perfect for school projects. In his talks, Alvares makes a cultural point too with his collection of more than one hundred postage stamps with kite motifs. Included are examples from Palau, Papua New Guinea and the Solomons illustrating the kite's ancient, mostly unknown role in Pacific Ocean fishing. By word of mouth and because of considerable publicity, Alvares' fame has spread and he now travels extensively, giving workshops and demonstrating at festivals for a fee. When he has time, he makes kites—big, showy ones. "Small kites are seen as children's playthings," he says. "I learned you need spectacular kites to impress children and get adults involved." Alvares has also traveled widely overseas. He's been all over Asia spreading the message of Australian-Asian friendship and has made it to Europe and North America on combined good will and learning missions. He has traveled to Seattle, Washington, to work with the Drachen Foundation in its first Kites in the Classroom workshop for teachers, giving others the opportunity to learn how to teach about kites to their students. Increasingly, Alvares is involving himself with the rich Australian Aboriginal mythology, using Aboriginal motifs such as the legendary rainbow serpent to tell stories and show Australian children an important, under-appreciated aspect of their own continental culture. Alvares sums up: "Kites are a great way to display creative talent. The high appreciation I have received from the public has helped me to break down cultural and racial barriers. My overseas trips have been not only a means to display my kites, but also to learn about other kite cultures and mythologies. When I return to Australia, I have a lot more to teach at schools." Adapted from an article in World on a String, a Drachen Foundation publication (1993)
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