EXCLUSIVE: Animation house Black Women Animate has set the details for its second annual Black in Animation Awards Show. Titled Lift While We Climb, the 2021 ceremony will see Grammy-winning musician and Steven Universe star Estelle return as host.
The awards ceremony seeks to honor Black people in animation who have and currently are paving the way for this sector of the entertainment industry.
This year’s Black in Animation Awards Show honorees include
- Trailblazer Award – Jay Francis, VP Current Series, Diversity & Inclusion, Disney Television Animation
- Cultural Innovator Award – Mounia Aram, Founder & President, Mounia Aram Company
- Next Gen Award – Tiffany Ford, Storyboard Artist, Craig of the Creek
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Dan Haskett, Animator & Character Designer for Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, Warner Bros. et al
- International Award – Thandiwe Mlauli, Founder & CEO, Studio Yezi (South Africa)
- Social Impact Spotlight Award – Laurence Ralph, Independent Filmmaker / Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University
The recipient of the Rising Star Award, as determined by the Dolphin Tank short competition series, will be announced during the ceremony.
“Following last year’s success, we wanted to continue to honor and acknowledge Black legends in animation,” said 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 awards ceremony will follow the fourth annual BWA Studios Boot Camp event on November 14, 2021 at 5 p.m. PT. Attendees can watch the Black in Animation Awards Show virtually and must register at http://www.bwabootcamp.com.
The BWA Boot Camp and Awards Show is produced by BWA Studios in partnership with A Wynn Wynn Productions, and West Peek Productions.
