Hello! I suppose this is an introduction of sorts! I’m Jessica Ashman and I’m an animator, director, animation workshop facilitator, university animation technician and….well, artist. And it feels pretty good to actually say that word…Artist.

Having graduated from the Royal College of Art’s Animation Masters programme last year, I’ve been freelancing in the world of animation shoots (and had done so prior to my masters), but not exactly working or developing as an artist. A complete lack of time, space and, to be honest, confidence, seem to be the main hurdles in this. So, I’m rather excited to have been selected for Animate Projects DRIVE scheme as I’ve been given a chance to really push forward my work as an artist. Especially as I’m developing a project I’ve had in my mind for a while…

This project I’m developing with DRIVE is an animated visual essay, tentatively called ‘I Don’t Protest, I Just Dance In My Shadow’. It’s about navigating the world of animation and visual arts as a woman of colour. Well, so far that’s what it is about…

The idea came from my time working as an animator commercially, as well as my recent introduction into the visual art world. I notice i’m usually the only black face on set. I see no other black or brown faces in the studio either. Exhibitions spaces are predominately white. When I first started out in the animation industry 7 years ago, I always wondered why there was no-one else who looked like me or were from my background working in the industry. And when I did discover a fellow woman of colour on a job, there would be a weird sense of solidarity, seen through secretive, furtive glances or a sense of ease when in conversation.

Upon moving to London and starting at the RCA, I also noticed this complete absence of diversity in the visual art world. I began to wonder why this was yet again, and also thought about further back, to the halcyon days of my art GCSE and A Level GCSE. No black or brown artists were taught or talked about there either.

As an artist of colour, I feel I must navigate these cultural spaces differently. I must look and behave a certain way for my ideas or stories to be heard. And so, I want to find out if other women of colour animators and artists feel the same way. Is it even a thought that crosses their mind? And if so, does it influence their work? Is there a danger of being defined by your race and culture? Is that a good/bad thing? I have many questions I want to ask… I feel this whole project is a journalistic exploration (from a non-journalist) of not only where WOC artists sit in these cultural worlds, but where I fit in too.

I also want to explore the feeling of trying to belong; it’s not about the woeful statistics to do with diversity or anything factual like that. It’s about the feeling of feeling ‘othered’ and I feel that this could be relatable to just about anyone.

So, there we go. My next steps are to start finding WOC artists and animators to start interviewing and talking. Wish me luck…