Gary Schwartz: Bringing Together Generations to Animate

Detroit-based animator, educator and artist Gary Schwartz is coming to Dlectricity 2017!

An Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and lecturer at the University of Michigan, Schwartz conducts hands-on animation workshops for people of all ages and backgrounds.

For 6 weeks prior to Dlectricity, Schwartz will be holding an inter-generational animation workshop to produce the work that will be presented at Dlectricity. The project is inspired by the motto of the city of Detroit, “Speramus Meliora, Resurget Cineribus” or “We hope for better things, it will rise from the ashes.” Using paper, puppets and other tools, workshop participants will tell their Detroit stories in animation through the role of shadow puppeteers.

By bringing together a mix of people ranging from adolescents to seniors, Schwartz will use his knowledge and expertise to bridge generational divides and facilitate a piece made by residents that tells diverse stories about the city.

The workshop is hosted by the Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation. The final product will be projected in the front windows of the Hannan House during Dlectricity. At the same time, inside the Ellen Kayrod Gallery of the Hannan House an animation projection studio will be installed for the public to try during the festival.

Thank you so much to the Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation for their generous support of this project and to the Hannan House for hosting this project!

You can view Schwartz’s Academy Award nominated film here, his Youtube channel here, and essays about Schwartz here and here.