ANIMATION CLUB

In 2018 WOW met Bethan, a proud young disabled woman from Ceredigion with a love for Japanese anime. She told us that it was her dream to start her own anime convention in West Wales.

That winter we worked alongside Mencap Ceredigion to organise animation workshops for adults and young people with learning disabilities and autism. Bethan became creative director of Abercon, an inclusive and accessible anime convention for the whole community, open to everyone and for all ages. The first Abercon was help at Aberystwyth Arts Centre during the 2019 WOW Film Festival.

Since 2020 the animation club has met online and in person, working together to make animations about 'human rights’ and ‘protecting nature'. Click on the animation club’s YouTube channel to watch: https://www.youtube.com/@ceredigionanimationclub646/videos

The animation club is a chance for creativity to shine. We are discovering the ways that neurodiverse people challenge storytelling and filmmaking conventions. In the words of one of the animators in the group - "with animation, anything is possible."

In 2025 community workshops begin in February at Small World Theatre, Cardigan, with option Zoom meetings once a month. The theme to start 2025 is 'masks'.