Tony Gammidge and Animated Tales
​
I am an Artist, Filmmaker/Animator, trainer and HCPC registered Art Therapist.
I have a particular interest in stories, and personal narrative and in the idea of embodied storymaking (stories that are made by hand as well as told).
This is reflected in my own work, in my own films, artist books and installations but also my participatory work in prisons, secure units, mental health settings and centres for asylum seekers.
I have been running these innovative animation and story projects for the last 12 years and have made over 30 films with participants in this time. Many of these films have won Koestler awards and been screened in conferences, symposiums and in galleries and museums.
The projects give participants the opportunity to make their own film and tell their own story, enabling them to take back control of their own histories. Many of the films that have been made tell of difficult and traumatic experiences. The hands-on animation process though enables these narratives to be told in a way that is safe and enpowering.
​
Upcoming Event
Voices From the Other Side; Animated Films made in prisons.
Freud's 4.00pm Session
Freud Museum, Saturday 3rd May
​
In this session Tony Gammidge will screen a number of short stop-frame animated films made by participants on mental health wings in men’s and women’s prisons.
The films are deeply felt, raw and personal and offer a glimpse into the filmmakers often traumatic pasts (and present) but also their resilience, imagination and humanity. Films about shame, violence, addiction, trauma, donkeys, football, family, escape, addiction, attachment, love and connection. Some of the films made for the children they are separated from but also inspired by them and films made as a way to understanding and meaning. The films often express things that words cannot; they touch on experiences often too hard to articulate in any other way. They give us a rare insight into life in custody behind locked doors and a world that is often not seen, they also though touch on life in general, the joys and suffering we all experience. They are most importantly though very much human stories with all the mess and beauty that brings. will contextualise the films in terms of what happened during the process and the impact the films have had on the filmmakers and audience and why these films are so important in the mental health and criminal justice systems.
Gammidge will also make links with psychoanalytical and particularly trauma theories as a way of placing this work in within a therapeutic context. There will be time for questions and responses from the audience.
https://www.freud.org.uk/event/freuds-4pm-session-voices-from-the-other-side/
​
​
​
​
​
​Recent Event
International Association of Forensic Association
Shadows, Projections and Embodied Roles
The Arts in Forensic Rehabilitation
Oxford Friends Meeting Place
Friday 14th March 9.30-16.00
​
​
​
​
This unique event will include a conversation between writer Siri Hustvedt (online from New York) and Anna Motz, animation films made in forensic settings with Tony Gammidge and a presentation on embodied roles within drama therapy by Lorna Downing. Chaired by Dr. Gwen Adshead this year's Reith Lecturer. This is primarily aimed at people working in forensic settings. Booking through the IAFP
https://www.forensicpsychotherapy.org/day-events
​
​
​
