www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, June 13, 2014 | 28 Faculty will also launch Sheridan Animation History book to coincide with event at Corus Quay and Trafalgar Road Campus by Julia Le Oakville Beaver Staff Sheridan College to host international animation conference those who attend next week's conference. It will also be used by the school to recruit and attract new international students. Rosenberg added the school has been talking about releasing the book more p u b l i c l y. H o w e v e r, for now, it is only available upon request. The conference features keynote addresses by notable Sheridan alumni, including Rex Gri- Ronni Rosenberg gnon, Head of Character Animation at Dreamworks on June 16 from 9-10 a.m. at Corus Quay, Charlie Bonifacio, Animation Artist (credits include Land Before Time, The Legend of Mulan, Lilo and Stitch) on June 17 from 5-5:45 p.m. at Corus Quay and Michael Fukushima, Animation Producer at the National Film Board of Canada on June 19 from 3:30-4 p.m. at the Sheridan SCAET Theatre. For more information, visit www. theanimator2014.com/home.php. Artscene "Connected to your Community" The story about animation and how it blossomed at Sheridan College is making its debut at an international animation conference being held in Toronto and Oakville next week. As more than 100 animators and animation faculty from around the world gather at the 26th annual Society for Animation Studies (SAS) conference from June 1619 at Corus Quay in Toronto and Sheridan's Trafalgar Road campus, they'll receive a copy of Sheridan Animation History that tells the story of how an animation program has spawned a now thriving industry. Ronni Rosenberg, the Dean of Animation, Arts and Design at Sheridan, told the Oakville Beaver what an honour it is to play host to the conference dedicated to the study of animation history and theory. She said in planning for the event, the faculty had the opportunity to reflect on how far animation at Sheridan has come. Walking down memory lane struck a chord, and the wheels were quickly set in motion to create a book that would showcase the outstanding talents of the animation students and faculty, Rosenberg noted. Not only does it tell the narrative of its founders, but it also features archived photos that have been dug up, a photo essay that depicts a day in the life of a student and interviews with the founders, faculty, alumni and partners in industry, she describes. From verbalizing the "compelling idea" to actually seeing it come to fruition in a compressed time frame, it has been quite the accomplishment, she continued, adding that it was truly a team effort and tremendous undertaking for faculty members. What she's proud of the most is that the book shares with others what they always seem to want to know when they come to Sheridan. Rosenberg shared how people always ask why Sheridan is so fa- Sheridan Animation History book is being launched at the 26th annual Society for Animation Studies conference from June 16-19 at Corus Quay in Toronto and Sheridan's Trafalgar Road campus. It was created by the Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design. | photo courtesy of Sheridan College mous for animation and how it has gotten to where it is today. "Really the most fascinating thing about Sheridan is the people," she said, noting how the right blend of people came together at the right time to create the animation program. "It sort of goes back to just having an idea like when I was speaking about making this book happen. It's just a tiny drop compared to really the accomplishment of the whole program," she continued. Thanks to the humble beginning of animation at Sheridan, Rosenberg said there is now a booming industry that is constantly evolving. Sheridan is keeping pace by offering degrees and working towards becoming a university. She said just this past fall Sheridan was the first in Canada to offer a Game Design degree. "We are putting technology in the hands of our students in the game design program," she said. "We're teaching them technology and in animation they're really primarily artists, designers and they have to learn the tools to make animation. But in game design, we're adding a layer of technology itself where they're learning how to write code." The book will be handed out to T H E B I G P I C T U R E Works by 17 artists, including Ewa Stryjnik's Garden Studies #171, will be on display at Trias Gallery until June 23. The exhibit, called The Big Picture, showcases a variety of mediums, including oil on canvas, acrylics, mixed media encaustic and sculptures. Trias Gallery is located at 11 Bronte Rd., Unit 29. photo courtesy of Trias Gallery