Featured image and other photos courtesy of Maciek Albrecht.
Resulting Film to Screen April 29 During New ‘Animation Day’ at SteelStacks
BETHLEHEM, PA— The public is invited to join four-time Emmy Award winning animator, illustrator, character creator and director Maciek Albrecht at ArtsQuest’s SouthSide Arts & Music Festival April 20-21 to participate in the creation of his new animated film which will premiere at SteelStacks’ Animation Day Sun., April 29, 2:30 p.m., at the ArtsQuest Center’s Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, 101 Founders Way.
Celebrating the people who live and work in Bethlehem, the “SouthSide Collaborative Community Animation Blast” will include characters and elements created by the public, all animated against a SouthSide themed landscape. Anyone interested in taking part in this unique artistic experience can join ArtsQuest and MaGiK Animation Studios at the Banana Factory during SouthSide Arts & Music Festival April 20, 6-8 p.m. and April 21, 2-6 p.m. to be a part of telling the story of SouthSide Bethlehem. The completed animated film will then screen at SteelStacks April 29 for the all-new Animation Day.
The screening is free to attend and features a showcase of Albrecht’s work and a talkback discussing his nearly 30-year career in animation. Anyone interested in attending Albrecht’s free Animation Day screening and talkback should reserve tickets in advance by calling the ArtsQuest Center Box Office at 610-332-3378 or visiting the Box Office in person.
Albrecht is best known for his work as character creator and director of HBO Family’s “Classical Baby;” producer of several “Sesame Street” shorts; as well as animating for “Wonder Pets,” “A Child’s Garden of Poetry” and Weston Woods and Scholastic book adaptations of “Where The Wild Things Are,” “Dooby, Dooby, Moo Cows That Type,” “How The Dinosaurs Say Goodnight,” “John, Paul George & Ben” and “The Teacher From The Black Lagoon.” His animated films have won numerous awards worldwide such as the Annecy Award for the best feature “Close To You”, the Peabody Award and four Emmys in an Animated Short Category.
In addition to the free screening and talkback with Albrecht, Animation Day will also celebrate traditional and modern animated films throughout the day. Films include Wes Anderson’s 2009 film “Fantastic Mr. Fox” at noon, Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning masterpiece “Spirited Away” at 4:30 p.m. and René Laloux’s 1973 animated sci-fi parable “Fantastic Planet” at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for each film are $7.50 for ArtsQuest Members and $10 for the public. The event will also feature a selection of vendors including local artists displaying and selling their work.
Albrecht’s film and residency are part of ArtsQuest’s “Artists Among Us” program, made possible by the Bucks County-based nonprofit Art of Preservation. The program is dedicated to honoring artists of various mediums living and working in Bucks County and the Lehigh Valley, to encourage, excite and support the aspirations of art-makers young and old.
Past “Artists Among Us” include painter Todd Stone, fashion designer Pamela Ptak of “Project Runway,” broadcast journalist Melba Tolliver, GQ and Esquire fashion editor G. Bruce Boyer, author Bathsheba Monk, record producer and musician John McClure and Marvel & DC Comics illustrator Scott Hanna.
For Animation Day tickets and more information, visit www.steelstacks.org.
Information and image provided to TVL by:
Mark Demko, ArtsQuest
http://www.artsquest.org/
