Teamie Spotlight: Cindey Chiang
We are returning with our monthly Artist Spotlights! To end off 2020 with a bang, we have a very special feature! We are excited to announce that Cindey Chiang has landed herself a spot in the A.C.E. program, run by Women in Animation, amongst five other talented women. During this year and a half long program 6 women will be creating an animated short film and Cindey will be the Art Director. Working on the film alongside her will be: Robyn Campbell as the writer, Tini Wider as the producer, Ana Gusson as the director, Erica Miles as the animation director and Eva Pekarova as the composer. A.C.E is an expanded program from Women in Animation’s previous Five in Focus program. Keep your eyes peeled for their animated film premier screening at the Spark Animation Festival in October 2021.
Tell me a little bit about yourself Cindey.
I was born in Taiwan, grew up in Vancouver and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in the Character Animation program at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts). I worked in LA for a year before returning to Vancouver where I have been since!
I love ice cream and coffee, I also love coffee flavoured ice cream, or ice cream in my coffee. In my free time I like going outside to enjoy nature- be it just a walk around Queen Elizabeth Park or a longer hike in any of the beautiful provincial parks here. Unfortunately due to the weather at this time of the year and also with the pandemic, I’ve been home 99% of the time. Apart from drawing I also really enjoy arts and crafts. Lately I’ve been thinking of translating some of my designs into textile art- looking to try out the punch needle to possibly make some rugs or wall hangings!
What do you do at Kickstart and how long have you been working at Kickstart for?
I am a Designer on Brown and Friends. I have been working at Kickstart since September of this year, so it has been approximately three months so far!
How did you hear about the A.C.E. program/Five in Focus program? Have you applied for the Five in Focus program in the past?
I heard about the ACE program through following Women in Animation on social media. I have not applied in the past, this is my first time!
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from all facets of life. Through various forms of media, artists of all genres, and just life itself. I think it’s the feelings and stories that we experience ourselves or through others that feed my work. When it’s genuine and intuitive, it feels right, and it’s reflected in the end product. Sometimes new experiences from traveling or doing something different just to refresh myself can pull me out of a creative rut!
What made you apply for the A.C.E. program? How did you feel when you were applying?
I decided to apply for the ACE program for a number of reasons. I felt that I was at a place and time in my career where I felt that I have had enough experience to show and to speak up about my interest in Art Direction. I applied for an Art Director position three years ago at a studio just to see what would happen. Surprisingly I was interviewed for the position. I knew I wasn’t necessarily ready and did not have actual Art Direction experience under my belt, but it was something I wanted to try out, just to see what would happen. I ended up being hired as a Designer, but the experience of being interviewed as an Art Director was significant to me. You could say that I decided to apply for ACE this year because I wanted to take a chance and try again. I also felt that the support and mentorship that I would receive if I were to be selected in the program would allow me to better prepare myself for the role in the future and that this would be an excellent learning opportunity.
What was the application process like?
The application process was an amazing learning experience in and of itself! The initial application was fairly straightforward and involved providing a resume, letter of intent, portfolio, and reference letters. After being selected on the shortlist of candidates, the shortlisted candidates participated in a series of workshops that involved a general overview of Art Direction as well as Pitching. The pitching sessions were specifically to help us with our final pitches to the jury, but also just a great skill to have in our professional lives. The final pitch, which each candidate had to prepare, involved talking about ourselves and our vision for the short film. It also included showing some artwork and answering questions from the jury. After the pitch it was just waiting to hear back on the results. All of the other shortlisted candidates were so talented and wonderful that I was extremely honoured to have been selected as the finalist and to have connected and participated in the workshops with them.
What are you most excited about in creating this film?
I am most excited about learning as much as I can through this process and through my mentors, and working alongside the other talented women on the team in creating something new, original, and that we can call our own!
How long have you been interested in Art Directing? What is your dream job? Do you have any goals you are trying to reach in your career?
I feel that Art Directing was always something that was at the back of my mind, just as a natural progression in my career and definitely something I have been interested in pursuing. My dream job would be to work on some really cute projects- oh wait, I’m already working on a really cute show here at Kickstart! Apart from that, I would like to develop my own ideas and projects and possibly sell some of my own personal art in the form of stickers, prints, physical objects etc!
You can check out more of Cindey’s art on her Instagram page!
