Animating in British Communities During the Lockdown: by Myria Christophini

This article is an examination of the use of animation in a participatory context in the
United Kingdom during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. It employs a case studies
approach to record a collection of this largely unexplored area of the participatory
animation arts, which here is understood as the joint effort that goes into the preparation
and creation process of an animation project that involves different communities. The case
studies are presented through a series of interviews and literature reviews. A reflective
analysis aims to inspire and provide best-practice guidance for participatory arts. As is
often customary in the creative arts, the article is written in the first person, as a narrative,
a reflective journal, to illuminate the author’s thought process concerning participatory
animation in online and physically distanced settings. It should be read having in mind the
paradigm of social constructivism and the related view that knowledge is co-constructed in
social settings, as well as the concept of the potentially unending and constantly improving
spiral methodology of Action Research (see Vygotsky). Finally, the article claims that
although animation bears many merits in its use as a participatory arts tool, unlike other
means of participatory art-making such as mural painting, it does seem to require a
healthy budget. Therefore, by highlighting the benefits and the difficulties of using
animation as a participatory tool, I hope to inform practitioners of what to expect during
such projects to help them plan better and to encourage funders to generously support
such endeavors.