Flight Deck Workshop

Kites come in all shapes and sizes. See kites from around the world and even better make your own to fly from the QPAC roof top!

Master kite-maker Tony Rice sees the sky as one enormous art gallery. His kites inspire children to investigate the principles of flight and then design, build, decorate and fly their own aerial artwork.

Things to try

• Kites are used in celebration in many countries; look at kites around the world and when they are used
• Read about inventions such as planes, hot air balloons and parachutes
• Make a list of children's games that don't require a common language to play such as hopscotch, rope jumping, and chasing games
• Visit the Brisbane Kite Festival website for ongoing details

Meet the artists

Tony Rice

Tony has been a kite-maker for 20 years. For Tony, kites are an exciting art form and a passion, which evolved from his many years as a potter and painter. Tony has won national acclaim for his imaginative kites. He has represented Australia in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Malaysia and Indonesia.

Community arts and kite education in schools make up a huge portion of Tony's projects. On top of this he has won both major mural and sculptural commissions. He is  a member of the Australian Kiteflyers Society and is a major influence among Australian kite artists for his use of traditional Asian kite-making techniques and materials.

He is currently specialising in taking art projects to students in the Queensland bush and artist-in-residence projects in schools.

Kite flying is enjoyed by children universally. Tony Rice's kites from around the world provide models for students to build and decorate their own. This workshop could be followed in class by an investigation of flight found in nature and human invention. 
Ages 4+

Curriculum connections
KLAs The Arts, SOSE
ELAs Active learning process, Imagining and responding

Related topics

• Flight in nature; found in birds and seeds
• Inventions that assist man to fly
• Wind power 
   

Before

• Kites are used in celebration in many countries; look at kites around the world and when they are used
• Read about inventions such as planes, hot air balloons and parachutes
• Make a list of children's games that don't require a language to play such as hopscotch, rope jumping, and chasing games
• Visit the Brisbane Kite Festival website for ongoing details
  

Meet the artist

Tony Rice
Tony has been a practicing artist for more than 30 years and a kite maker for 20 years. For Tony, kites are an exciting new art form, and a passion which evolved from his many years as a potter and painter. Tony is an artist who has won national acclaim for his imaginative kites. He has represented Australia in the United States, Japan, New Zealand, and Malaysia and has just returned from Indonesia.

Community arts and kite education in schools make up a huge portion of Tony's projects. On top of this he has won both major mural and sculptural commissions. He us a member of the Australian Kite Flyer's Society and is a major influence among Australian Kite Artists for his use of traditional Asian kite making techniques and materials.

He is currently specialising in taking art projects to students in the Queensland bush, and artist in residence projects in schools.