Guyanese, today, will have the opportunity to officially become acquainted with the Guyana Animation Network (GAN) as it makes its first public move on the way to securing a place in the global animation industry.
Founder of GAN, Jubilante Cutting, 20, in an interview last evening said that there is a thriving, progressive, multi-billion dollar industry in ICT and animation, but Guyana has to be disciplined in order to move forward with the Caribbean and the rest of the world.
“On the international level, the world is currently looking to the Caribbean to develop its own base of animators, artists, and cultural persons who can service the animation ICTs and creative industries so that when large companies like SONY or Disney want the Caribbean to produce their own animated films—something similar to Mulan—they want to know that when they’re ready to outsource work to the Caribbean, to have a film produced on Caribbean culture as a whole, we would have already been building our people. We would have already been building our work force along the way,” she said.
She related that today’s meeting will be the network’s first introduction to the public and noted that the group’s purpose is more regional and international, rather than merely local.
The network, developed over the space of two years, boasts hundreds of members in its collective, who are drawn from across the diaspora and beyond. They include not only animators, but professionals from a wide range of fields, including the creative industries, technology and administration.
They are supported by Caricom, which provides mentorship and connects them with resources regionally and internationally.
“We have Caricom’s support, in terms of pushing for governments to include animation and the ICTs as a major, major topic when it comes to streamlining education, streamlining jobs, and where general and regional advocacy is concerned. Caricom has been giving us major support,” Cutting said.
The group also receives support from other established animation networks across the region, which Cutting said are willing to make the opportunities that they have available to them accessible to Guyanese. Apart from training, Guyanese will also benefit from connecting with world industries.
One of the aims of GAN, the tagline of which is to “Create, innovate, animate,” is to provide and create opportunities for Guyanese within the information technology and creative industries.
Cutting became interested in animation after participating in “Girls in ICT Day,” a forum held by Caricom in 2014. That same year, she went on to attend the Animae Caribe Festival in Trinidad, where her passion for the art form blossomed.
GAN’s launch will take place at 2pm today, on the second floor of the Generation Next Building at Lot 7 D’Urban Street, Wortmanville (opposite the First Assembly of God Church, Wortmanville building).
