Biography: The Archive's New BIOPEDIA

Many people who don't live in the Los Angeles area have inquired about how they can help volunteer to support the archive project. Today, we are introducing a new feature of the Archive website that will allow everyone to pitch in to help create our Biographical Database.

In the past, books on the history of animation have been organized into chapters by studio or by character. But this doesn't tell the real story of how these films were made... The history of animation is a story of PEOPLE... artists working together and learning from each other, moving from studio to studio as their career carries them. Every artist is influenced by every other artist they ever worked with. Here at the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, we want to tell these people's stories.

The way we plan to do this is to create an inter-connected database of biographical information. The database will contain information about each artist... their career path, their filmography, their style, and the artists who influenced them. When this database is full of information, we will be able to follow the links between artists and see the real story that hasn't been told yet.

Today, we would like you to take a look at our new Animation Biopedia. In it, you will find an index of names of people who have been honored with the Winsor McCay Award, people who have been featured in the Animation Archive Blog, and people who serve on the Board of Directors of ASIFA-Hollywood. Each name links to an information page on that person. Right now, the pages are empty... That's where YOU come in...

We invite you to submit information on these people. Spend a few hours searching the web or scanning through an animation book to find information on your favorite animator, director or voice artist. Go to the library and look for references to them in magazines or newspapers. Assemble the information and submit it through the comments link at the bottom of that person's page. We will compile all the submissions and add them to the Biopedia for the whole world to read.

These people have given us all hours and hours of animated entertainment. We can repay them with our respect and acknowledgement. Please contribute to the Biopedia and tell your friends they should participate too. As time goes by, we will be adding more names and expanding the listings. But we need your help to get started. Please take a few hours over the holidays to contribute.

Here is a link to the...
ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive Biopedia

Thank you
Stephen Worth
Director
ASIFA-Hollywood
Animation Archive

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