To the Motion Design Community,
First thing’s first. I am sorry that there has not been a swift public response from School of Motion in light of recent events. To be clear, we are all deeply disturbed by the systemic racism that is still so clearly evident throughout the United States and abroad. We are also inspired by those who have taken to the streets to protest a broken system that often harms those it’s supposed to protect, especially if they are black.
The delay in response is 100% on me. I’ve spent the last week and a half trying to figure out the most appropriate way to respond to these events. As a place of education, how can School of Motion help move our industry in a positive direction? How can we support the Black community in a productive way? These are questions almost everyone is asking themselves right now, and I’ve been going about answering them in the dumbest way possible: Trying to figure it out myself.
I’ll address the elephant in the room. I’m a white guy. Our team is mostly white (though very, very diverse in other ways), and the industry we serve is mostly white, mostly dudes. Everyone at School of Motion is working on the same mission: To break down the barriers to learning, mastering, and working in Motion Design. Right now, it’s clear we can do much, much more than we have in the past.
While we provide financial support to many students, it’s really hit me hard this week that financial barriers are not the only barriers to succeeding in this (or any) industry. I know you’re saying, “duh, Joey” right now… Intellectually I’ve always known that, of course, and have addressed it in many forms through podcasts and articles… but those are passive actions, and not enough to change anything, really.
Change takes momentum, and momentum only comes from deliberate, conscious action.
We have been building out our scholarship program for the last few months and have begun work to make it more cohesive, providing more than just financial assistance. It’s a start, and it will continue to help artists overcome the financial barrier in every session from now on… but, frankly, that’s the easy part. The hard part is finding ways to engage with the communities that we haven’t been engaged with, and I want to start there.
There are things we can do that seem obvious, like making an active effort to shine a light on a far more diverse set of artists and individuals in our industry… and we will do those things. But I’m more interested in the things that my team and I don’t have the personal experiences to realize need to happen. I want to hear the stories that haven’t been easy to find, I want to know what experiences black artists (or artists from any underrepresented group) have been through that have shaped them, and I want to help our industry grow into a far more diverse community.
I don’t know exactly what that looks like, but I hope that you’ll bear with me and engage with the School of Motion Team as we work to find out. I would love to hear your thoughts, directly from you. You can simply reply to this email, and I look forward to hearing your stories and your ideas. I promise you, they will not land on deaf ears.
Everyone at School of Motion is part of the community we serve, and will work tirelessly to make that community better. We hear you, and we’re ready to act.
Be Safe,
-joey