Collaboration is at the heart of our work.
Our programme supports artists to partner with specialists from other disciplines. In this way they are able to explore particular themes, including science, heritage, and working lives. We connect artists with the public, engaging them as both participants and audience.
Planting (2024)
“Working on the PLANTING project has been great. Both Animate and the artist, Karen, have taken such a keen interest and passion in the Green Corridor project and the final film reflects this – it has shown the Green Corridor in a new light and I’m sure the animation will be useful going forward in the my work.” — Adam Donsunmu Slater, Community Organiser, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
PLANTING invited three early career artists – Simon Hamlyn, Lewis Heriz, and Karen Okpoti – selected from a national open call, to make short, experimental animated films that explore our relationship to nature, in collaboration with three Derby ‘gardens’ – Derby Arboretum, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s urban Green Corridor, and Hannah Fields community garden in Littleover. During a period of research and development, they engaged with the organisations and the people they work with, getting to know something of their ethos and activities, and exploring broader themes and contexts.
Place Setting (2024)
“My parents didn’t know about dDeaflinks. They didn’t really know much about deafness. The school never informed me or anyone about there being a deaf club. And then I found out about dDeaflinks. I was quite shocked that there were so many deaf people there. I would have gone if I had known earlier.” — Anne Cartridge
Nina Thomas’ project explores themes of loss, memory and community, and what it is to live in and work in a hearing world. She worked closely with community organisation dDeaflinks Staffordshire, interviewing members Malcolm Johnson and Anne Cartridge, who had been pupils at The Mount School for the Deaf in Stoke-on-Trent in the 1960s, and went on to spend their working lives in the Potteries. The interviews provide a context for and documentation of a significant local history, and what it means to lose deaf clubs and other community spaces which once held rich cultural, linguistic and social value.
Place Setting was commissioned by Animate Projects and British Ceramics Biennial, Stoke-on-Trent and the film was also presented at QUAD, Derby and LUX, London. We ran a clay workshop for a group of dDeaflinks members, and at LUX, Nina led a workshop on Deaf Clubs and Deaf Futures.
WORK (2020)
WORK commissioned four artists to make films that explore ideas and the realities of what ‘work’ means for the way we live today, engaging directly with the experiences of contemporary working lives – in rural and post-mining communities, healthcare in the community, and workplace activism. Follow this link to see the films, and to read interviews and writing about the project.
“The WORK films offer us an inside picture of working life in the Midlands – from field to factory and from dance studio to tattoo parlour; stories are surely relevant to the whole of Britain. The artists are all generous to their subjects, giving them time to speak for themselves, and allowing us in on their worlds of work.” — Helen DeWitt
A Language of Shapes (2022)
Artist Samantha Moore collaborated with Professor Serge Mostowy and his lab at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) to produce a film about scientific research that could reach children. Art and science students at Central Saint Martins (CSM) and Manchester Metropolitan University developed online, creative workshops for young people across the UK in response to the Lab’s research. LSHTM’s Young Scientist programme also ran live creative workshops. For more information visit the Storytelling Science page or read the evaluation report here.
“It was interesting to learn about how the cells communicate and have fun while learning.” — Young workshop participant
Untold Tales (2018)
Six artists made films for Instagram inspired by and featuring their communities and heritage. The project was commissioned for Anim18, a UK wide celebration of animation.
“I wanted to distil the essence of what Carnival is for someone who has a diasporic connection to it – filming the community groups at London carnivals and talking with people about their connection.” — Jessica Ashman
Artist Kate Sullivan worked with members of The Stereoscopic Society, creating a stereoscopic film featuring their work and documentation of their meetings.
“58 seconds probably isn’t enough time to experience how I feel when submerging for the usual full 3 hours at the club, but I hope you enjoy your quick cup of tea, meeting my friends and watching a digital slide show with us.” — Kate Sullivan
Header image: A scientist speaks to attendees of the projection of A Language of Shapes about the science behind the film.