Animated Women UK, the organization supporting women in the U.K.’s VFX and animation industries, has announced it is running four online workshops in June, aimed at helping members achieve their career goals.
The workshops, open to AWUK members at the levels of experience, are supported by ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund, with contributions from U.K. animation productions. These stand-alone workshops will all be delivered via Zoom.
Schedule and additional details available here.
Two of the workshops have been adapted from the most popular sessions of AWUK’s highly acclaimed Helen North Achieve Programme. “Confidence and Getting Your Voice Heard” (Friday, June 5) will include guidance on how to get heard in dailies and start building a mindset to overcome “imposter syndrome.” The “Impact and Building the Brand You” workshop (Tuesday, June 16) will help participants learn how to define their own personal brand and communicate with presence and impact.
Workshop leaders Jan Armstrong and Marianne O’Connor have also developed two new workshops: “Managing Your Virtual Communication” (Tuesday, June 2) will focus on communicating creatively and assertively online, motivating yourself and others when working remotely, developing practical strategies for building virtual relationships and getting the most from a virtual team meeting.
“Thriving as a Freelance” (Thursday, June 18) will give freelance members the tools to effectively market themselves; build, maintain and manage a network and raise the profile and visibility of what they do.
These four highly interactive workshops will utilize virtual break-out spaces to allow participants to workshop ideas and receive feedback in small, supportive groups. They will also include a “surgery,” where AWUK members can discuss difficult work challenges.
AWUK members can apply for any or all of the workshops that are relevant to them via Eventbrite. Each session runs from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. BST and costs just £25, thanks to the support of ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund.
“We’re excited to be hosting our first-ever online workshops, thanks to the support of ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund,” said Louise Hussey, Co-Chair, VFX for AWUK. “These sessions will give AWUK members who are social distancing the tools to thrive in their careers, whether they are normally studio- or office-based or working from home. We think they will particularly appeal to time-constrained members and those living outside London.
“More AWUK members than ever will be able to easily access our workshops, as there’s no need to travel further than your living room with Zoom!” Hussey continued. “Supporting women to reach their full potential and realize their career ambitions is our core mission. While representation of women in our industries has improved, particularly in animation, there’s still some way to go before we’re equally represented in VFX and pay parity is achieved. Building relationships, self-marketing and putting yourself forward for key projects and roles is crucial to career success. Our online workshops are focused on equipping members with the confidence and skills to achieve their career goals.”
Abigail Addison, Animation Production Liaison Executive at ScreenSkills, said, “ScreenSkills is delighted to support Animated Women UK in adapting sessions from the Helen North Achieve Programme for online delivery. We’re also thrilled to facilitate the development of new content for workshops on virtual communication and thriving as a freelance.
“It is thanks to the contributions from U.K. animation productions to the ScreenSkills Animation Skills Fund that we are able to support initiatives like these workshops, which give women wherever they’re based the knowledge and guidance to progress their careers in the animation and VFX industries.”
