Female animators from across the country and the world came together Tuesday during the ACM SIGGRAPH 2005 annual Conference at the Women in Animation Birds of a Feather meet-n-greet. The room filled up quickly and more chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the large group. Some of the countries represented were Japan, Germany, England, Mexico and Italy as well as a wide array of states.

The event was organized by Jan Nagel, President of Women in Animation, to learn more about Jan read her interview at http://reports.siggraph.org/interviews/jan-nagel/. Women in Animation is best described by their mission statement:

“Women In Animation is a professional, non-profit organization established in 1994 to foster the dignity, concerns and advancement of women who are involved with any and all aspects of the industry and art of animation.”

As women entered the Birds of a Feather session they received a Women in Animation International SIGGRAPH survival kit which included juice, snacks, a pad of paper and a pen and an application to join Women in Animation. At the start of the event a few notable attendees addressed the group including author Jean Wright (who spoke briefly about her new book Animation Writing and Development) and the recently elected President of the LA SIGGRAPH Chapter, Sharon Eisenberg, who mentioned some upcoming events.

The bulk of the event consisted of attendees mingling. At first all those present were divided into groups (based on geographical location, to promote meeting local peers). However, soon many attendees spread out to network with women from other areas as well. Lots of business cards were exchanged at what was, for me, the best networking event yet at SIGGRAPH 2005.