Karen Jackson
Chair, TAAFI
Karen Jackson is the newest Chair for TAAFI. As TAAFI's first female chair, Karen is excited to bring with her new ideas and efforts in increasing inclusion and diversity into TAAFI's events. Karen has worked tirelessly for TAAFI for many years and is proud to have the opportunity to continue building TAAFI towards further success. Karen currently works at Mainframe Studios and has over ten years experience in the Animation Industry bringing with her a strong background in managing teams, organizing events, building event and organizational pipelines and running the business.
1:00PM - 2:00PM
Opening Keynote: Mindy Johnson
Author of Ink and Paint's Mindy Johnson, the woman who literally wrote the book on the contributions of women in Animation, is coming IN-PERSON to Toronto to open our conference! A powerful speaker and visionary, Mindy's talk is one you can't miss!
2:15PM - 3:15PM
Trailblazing Women in Animation presented by Pipeline Studios
Since the dawn of the animation industry, women have always played an integral role in helping to shape the creative vision and execution of various projects– and even more recently, many have become leaders in their field, paving the way for even more talented women!
Join trailblazing female leads Deborah A. Anderson (BlkWmnAnimator), Marge Dean (Head of Studio at Skybound Animation, Women in Animation), Mindy Johnson (Animation Historian & Author), Sumira Dhawan (Head of CG, Redefine) and Shaleen Sangha (Vice President of Kids and Family Content at Boat Rocker Media) on Friday November 3rd for a roundtable discussion about the challenges women have historically faced throughout the industry, the successes of women rising to positions of leadership within animation, and the work still yet to be done to help create opportunities for women entering the workforce (and become trailblazers themselves!)
We’re ecstatic to have such a wide and wonderful array of talented and awe-inspiring panelists and can’t wait to learn more!
5:30PM - 6:30PM
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Behind-the-scenes
Canada enters the Spider-Verse!
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse blew audiences away with its boundary pushing imagery and animation, blending an eclectic array of styles seamlessly with dazzling results. The sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, pushes the boundaries even further, thanks to a team of talented artists, including home-grown talent from right here in Canada! Now, TAAFI enters the Spider-Verse with JP Welsh, (Senior Character Animator) Sheldon Lisoy, (Compositing Lead), and Dani Devereux (Matte Painting Supervisor) as they trace the threads they spun into the multi-dimensional web of this groundbreaking animated blockbuster.
Moderator: Karen Jackson Chair, TAAFI
