Please join the Animation Department for a presentation by award-winning author, historian, filmmaker and preeminent expert on women in early animation, Mindy Johnson: 

An Invisible History: Trailblazing Women of Animation
From the earliest pioneers of hand-rendered animated films, to the advent of digital technology, women have been at the forefront of the animation medium, yet their extraordinary contributions have largely gone unrecognized.  Join MindyJohnson, author of the landmark volume Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney's Animation  (Disney Editions Deluxe) and Pencils, Pens & Brushes - A Great Girls Guide to Disney Animation (Disney Press) as she raises the celluloid curtain on the remarkable 'her-story' of women in animation.

Mindy Johnson’s latest groundbreaking book Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, (Disney Editions) redefines our collective history. This essential volume casts a light on the thousands of unsung female artists behind the creative and technical advances within the animation art forms of the Twentieth Century. ‘Ink & Paint’ is currently in development for an 8-part docu-series to air on The Walt Disney Company’s new streaming service Disney+

Recipient of the 2019 AMPAS/Oscars.org Film Scholar Award, Mindy’s work continues with her latest work exploring the earliest women of animation. Her highly-anticipated Young-Readers volume entitled: Pencils, Pens & Brushes – A Great Girls’ Guide to Disney Animation, (Disney Press) celebrates the contributions of 20 remarkable women within early Disney animation and is a treasure for all ages. Mindy’s critically acclaimed debut, Tinker Bell – An Evolution (Disney Editions) was honored with rare consecutive Family Choice Awards, and she is a contributing writer for the epic volume, The Walt Disney Film Archives – The Animated Movies 1921-1968, (Taschen); as well as the celebrated collection, Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man, (Disney Editions).

A sought-after commentator, speaker, lecturer and panelist, Mindy appears in several documentaries, as well as the internationally broadcast ABC special Behind the Magic: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Her frequent presentations and appearances at numerous
studios, campuses, international festivals and conferences including: The Smithsonian Speakers Series, Ottawa International Animation Festival, Lucasfilm, Dreamworks, TCM Classic Film Festival, D23 Expo, San Diego ComiCon, CTN Expo, World Animation Festival and more, Mindy has also
written for numerous international publications and produced record-breaking global campaigns for the film industry. Her written, produced and creative work extends to a wide range of film projects for a growing list of clients, including: AMPAS/Oscars.org, TCM/Turner Broadcasting, WNET/American Masters, The Walt Disney Family Museum, The Walt Disney Company, HoriPro Entertainment, Pixar Studios, Dick Cavett’s Daphne Productions, SiriusXM Radio and more.

In addition to a background in network television and film production, Mindy is also an awardwinning playwright, Grammy-nominated songwriter, musician, and a contributing artist on several internationally acclaimed recordings. When she isn’t researching or writing on a myriad of subjects, Mindy also teaches film/animation studies, women’s animation history, screenwriting & intercultural film at CalArts and various campuses in Southern CA.