Move on Up is a festival of dynamic, exciting, provocative and beautiful films made by animation artists in the UK over last 20 years. All 16 films were selected from the Animate Collection, the premier online resource for experimental animation that can be found at animateprojects.org. The earlier films were commissioned for Arts Council England and Channel 4’s renowned animation scheme, AnimateTV (1990 to 2009) and the later films- Edgeland Mutter, Engine Angelic and Love Bird- were originally commissioned for online exhibition.
The films use a wide range of animation techniques and styles to explore ideas of place in different ways. The programme begins with Early Birds, which considers the decline in the songbird population in the UK and ends with As the Crow Flies, made with the drawings contributed by more than 500 people at workshops across the UK. The artists’ offer us new worlds, or re-imagine the world we already know to allow us to reflect on our own experiences.
The season title refers to the song Move on Up by Curtis Mayfield, which is featured in the film Run Wrake. It captures the spirit of the programme of considering the challenges the world presents and the way we navigate our lives: ‘just move on up to your destination, though you may find from time to time complications.’
Canary Wharf Screen was an innovative motion-picture screening programme initiated by Art on the Underground. Presented on one of the capital’s largest public projection screens, this exciting seasonal programme presents leading contemporary and historical artists’ moving image for our customers, staff and visitors free of charge. The inaugural 2012 series was programmed in collaboration with Film and Video Umbrella, Animate Projects, LUX and BFI, four of the UK’s finest moving image organisations.
