Black Women Animate (BWA Studios) will host the second annual Black in Animation Awards Show. This initiative will continue to honor Black people in animation who have and currently are paving the way for this sector of the entertainment industry. This awards show will be the closing event for the fourth annual BWA Studios Boot Camp training event on November 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM PST / 8:00 PM EST. Attendees can watch the Black in Animation Awards Show virtually and can register to watch the show and participate in the BWA Studios Boot Camp through https://www.bwabootcamp.com/.
The theme of this year’s event is “Lift While We Climb”. This year’s honorees include Jay Francis, Vice President, Current Series and Diversity, Disney Television Animation (Trailblazer Award); Mounia Aram, Founder & President of Mounia Aram Company (Cultural Innovator Award), Tiffany Ford, Cartoonist and Illustrator, and storyboard artist for Craig of the Creek (Next Gen Award); Dan Haskett, Veteran Animator (Lifetime Achievement Award); Thandiwe Mlauli, Founder & CEO of Studio Yezi (International Award); and Laurence Ralph, Independent Filmmaker and Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University (Social Impact Spotlight Award). The Rising Star Award will be announced during the Awards Show.
Honorees were selected by the Awards Show Nomination Committee inclusive of industry veterans and community leaders: Camille Eden (VP of Recruiting and Talent Development, Nickelodeon), Nicole Rivera (Vice President, Original Series Development, Cartoon Network), Lynne Southerland (Director/Showrunner), Sidney Clifton (EP, Jim Henson & Deluxe Animation, Supervising Producer, BWA Studios), Carl Reed (President, Lion Forge Animation), Jinko Gotoh (Producer, Netflix ), and Marlon West (Head of Effects, Disney).
The show will once again be hosted by Grammy award-winning artist Estelle.
“Following last year’s success, we wanted to continue to honor and acknowledge Black legends in animation,” reflected BWA Studios Founder and CEO Taylor K. Shaw and Founding and Managing Partner JLove Calderón. “That’s where this year’s theme stems from; as Black folx continue to play an incredible role in the animation industry, it creates space for generations to come. We want to keep celebrating this through our Black in Animation Awards Ceremony while also giving audiences firsthand access to tools in which they too can excel in our industry during our Boot Camp event.”
The fourth annual BWA Studios Boot Camp is a free, two-day virtual event running from November 13014, 2021. It includes intensive workshops and insightful panels featuring industry experts and animation gurus from Cartoon Network Studios, Nickelodeon, Netflix, Titmouse, Inspire Justice, Disney TVA, Illumination, 9 Story, Pixar, Wayfarer, Belong and MTV Studios. The BWA Boot Camp and Awards Show is produced by BWA Studios in partnership with A Wynn Wynn Productions, and West Peek Productions.
