Chrissy Guest, Assistant Professor, Media Arts, Sciences, and Studies, presented her paper, Documenting Women in Animation from 1980-2018, at the 30th Annual Society for Animation Studies Conference which was held at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Her paper examines the research process in documenting under-representation of women working behind the scenes in the field of animation and the pedagogy used to educate animators over five decades. This year’s conference titled, Then, Now and Next, drew well over 200 proposals that were scored multiple times in a double-blind selection process by an international committee of animation scholars. The submissions invited to present received high marks as more than half of the proposals were rejected to maintain a manageable number of presentations at the conference.
The paper drew on the research from Professor Guest’s current project, a documentary film entitled Beyond Ink & Paint: The Women of Animation. Her presentation included excerpts from the field interviews conducted for the documentary. The film examines the studio culture surrounding women working in animation over the past 50 years. The filmmaker weaves together a narrative tapestry of nearly 60 prominent women working across varying forms of animation and studio models to create a unique perspective on the past, present and future of animation. The film chronicles the formation of the Women in Animation (WIA) organization from its conception in 1995, to its membership decline in the early 2000s, and its reinvigoration in 2013.
Over the course of the film, the academic practices used to educate potential animation artists are analyzed and supported by a national survey study of professional animation talent. The study was conducted by Professor Guest to examine the gap between the 60% of women attending animation schools and the 23% of creative animation jobs held by women in the United States, according to WIA. Various animation studio trainee programs, hiring and promotional practices and other factors in career trajectory for women are also brought into question. This research continues to gain national and international recognition.
https://www.beyondinkandpaint.com/
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20180626115756852