The BFI is inviting filmmakers to help shape it next five-year plan. The public consultation closes on 8 September.

We’ll be submitting a response from AAUK – but hope that many of you will make your own thoughts known. We’ll share a draft response for any additional input or comment soon. Meanwhile, this from AAUK member Jo Wonder:

Dear animators,

I went to the BFI Road Show in London, which was set up to provide a question and answer session about the plans for BFI 2022 .  (They will be moving to other locations now so do try to go).

Listening to their plans, I was concerned that the ‘new 2022’ policies were looking very much like the previous policies which created specific disadvantages for both women and animators.

The planned focus on the young (under 25)excludes women and some men wanting to enter, or return, to animation after child rearing.

I am also concerned that the natural flair and innovation for animation, that the UK has demonstrated in the past, will again could get buried under policy making that attempts to solve social and economic issues, rather than promote art for its own sake.

Please be active in filling out their on line form at the link below:

bfi.org.uk/consultation2022

Best wishes, Jo

jowonder.com

Animation UK’s Oli Hyatt has called for declarations of interest in joining a proposed new industry body for animation.

In its eight years, Oli has acheived very real successes leading Animation UK, in particular the tax breaks for animation for television. But as he points out, it remains an informal organisation. There’s no official trad body for animation. And animation isn’t even officially counted as an industry at all, which makes it all but impossible to get its voice heard. As Lindsay Watson’s review of policy and children’s animated series has highlighted, “at policy level Britain’s animation industry is severely under represented.”

So, as Oli says, ‘it’s time to get serious about our industry. It’s time to invest and get the support and recognition we deserve.”

This isn’t news to AAUK, and it’s encouraging that whilst Animation UK’s focus has been on children’s television, the ambition is that the new organisation would address business, culture and skills in equal measure.

You can read Lindsay’s report on the Animation UK website here.

Oli has outlined his proposals in a letter here – and he’s asking for feedback and expressions of interest by 25 March 2016.

Arts Council England is asking arts organisations, artists and other stakeholders to feedback on their investment proposals for 2018-21, and suggested we might share this with you, so that animators’ views are represented. 

The proposals are here. They are generally quite broad, but seem reasonable, so it’s hard to think of much to say about them! Nevertheless, if we don’t say anything, our concerns won’t register.

So, we are strongly encouraging you to respond. You can say what you like, and as much or as little – you won’t be identified to ACE. Our Animation Alliance UK’s responses to the survey questions are below. Feel free to take any or all of this and use it yourself.

Here’s the link to the survey: http://surveys.comres.co.uk/wix/3/p1849093483.aspx

Animation Alliance UK responses:
CHANGES TO THE NATIONAL PORTFOLIO
This all seems sensible enough. We would simply note that animation isn’t represented in the current Portfolio, which seems at odds with all that ACE says about wanting to reach a wide public, young people, support digital creativity, etc, etc.

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO FUNDING ARTS, MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES
skipped this question

MORE SUPPORT FOR INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS
Again, this seems reasonable, but animation is currently so under-represented across ACE’s investment that it’s difficult to know what benefit there might be to animators. As well as wanting to encourage ‘artists at an early stage of their careers’, ACE might also consider how it can encourage more representation of a broader range of creative practice and practitioner. This will necessitate a greater understanding of contemporary practice than ACE currently evidences, and, for animation in particular, clarity and consistency. Our members have often been given contradictory advice about ACE’s remit for animation, including being told that it simply doesn’t have one. One factor that acts as a barrier to early stage and established artists applying must surely the perception of ACE as being primarily interested in traditional and established forms.

CHANGES TO GRANTS FOR THE ARTS
Again, this seems reasonable. Animation is currently so under-represented in Grants for the arts that any change in ACE’s attitude might be beneficial. ‘Creative industry products’ needs elaborating. Animated documentary is a vital and expanding field of practice, but it is difficult to see why ACE would want to support arts documentaries without evidence that its current substantial investment in online arts programming has been successful. Museums are increasingly using animation and animators to creatively explore their collections and engage the public. And games and other innovative forms for digital platforms depend on animators’ creativity. So by and large, this all sounds promising. Again, this will necessitate a greater understanding of contemporary practice than ACE currently evidences, and, for animation in particular, a clarity and consistency. 

CHANGES TO STRATEGIC FUNDS
Independent animators don’t benefit from ACE’s current strategic funds and we don’t see that these proposals are likely to change that. 

Do you have any further comments…
It’s fair to say that many people, especially individual animators and artists, find Arts Council England a mysterious organisation, and get little sense that it understands us, or our creative practice. And so it’s difficult to understand how to respond to an organisation that seems to have little interest or understanding in what we do.

These are generally broad and sensible proposals. We would be disappointed if the consultation ended here. We would hope that there would be much more detailed, sector specific, targeted conversations, including with organisations that aren’t currently represented in ACE’s Portfolio, and with artists and practitioners making work that does not currently benefit from ACE funding generally. By which we mean animation and animators.