On display until 28 January, four Hidden Stories created by Red Kite Animation and young animators are being featured in the Museum of Edinburgh’s temporary exhibition space.
The inspiration for the project came from a short animated film called ‘SHOE’ by artist Quan Shi, who created an award winning animation about a doll made from an old shoe which is displayed in the Museum of Childhood. The discovery inspired Quan Shi to create a film about how the object could have been made for a little girl by her father.
Using the same approach as Quan Shi, young Scottish school pupils and students have used animation as a medium to convey imagined stories for how toys and artefacts came to arrive in the Council’s Writers’ Museum, Museum of Childhood, and Queensferry Museum.
The four featured films have been selected by a panel of animators and industry professionals following a Scotland-wide competition.
Councillor Richard Lewis, Culture and Sport Convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We launched a competition for young people to allow their imaginations to run wild and it is great to see their ideas come to life through animation. Staff across the Council’s museums, libraries and community services worked jointly with professional animators to teach students creative and technical skills. I think this exhibition showcases the talent of a new generation of young animators and I hope this project is a springboard for their future success.”
10 year old Jude Vanneste, a pupil of Towerbank Primary School, is the animator behind “Revenge of the Shoe Doll”, which is inspired by the same item as Quan Shi’s film. He said: “My animation is made up, and is about the shoe doll from the Museum of Childhood. It shows him being put in a fryer and ending up in a pie, before becoming a skeleton and taking his revenge. I visited Portobello Library four of five times and with the staff, discovered how to make my own film. But it hasn’t felt like learning, it’s been good fun.”
Paul Hudson, Team Leader at Portobello library said: “We are delighted that the work of our young animators has been recognised like this. We are already looking to build on this success and are currently planning further animation projects with the Craigmillar Arts and Environment Project.”
The Hidden Stories project has been created in association with Red Kite Animation and the Edinburgh College of Art.
Fiona Henderson, Workshop and Education Officer at Red Kite Animation, said: “It’s lovely to be able to watch the young people’s images brought to life through animation. This has been a fascinating collaboration with Edinburgh’s Libraries and Museums, with the students drawing inspiration from everyday and unusual objects in the collections. The results are entertaining and extraordinary, and I hope they inspire other youngsters to get into animation.”
Jared Taylor, Programme Director of Animation at the Edinburgh College of Art, said: “Animation in Edinburgh is itself a hidden story. Many people don’t realise the contribution made by Edinburgh-based artists, including Scottish Bafta winning graduates of the College of Art. This exhibition sheds light on how animation works and it has been great seeing young people discover that being an animator is not a pipe dream. It is possible to bring your own stories to life.”
The films form part of an exciting annual programme of temporary exhibitions at Edinburgh Museums and Galleries. A free but ticketed animation workshop will be held on 20 December at the Museum of Edinburgh, for people to create their own Christmas animations. For more information on ‘Make an Animated Christmas Card’, visit The Edinburgh Museums website.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
