Starting the TAIC Conference off strong, we’re excited and honoured to welcome acclaimed Canadian stop-motion artist, animator, filmmaker, and media artist Amanda Strong (Founder, Director, & Producer at Spotted Fawn Productions Inc.) to lead this year’s opening keynote!

With a career spanning nearly two decades, Amanda’s innovative stop-motion and hybrid work explore Indigenous histories, lineage, language, and culture through deeply crafted visual worlds, blending stop-motion puppetry, illustration, and new media practices. Her work includes award-nominated films such as Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes), and Inkwo for When the Starving Return, developed with the National Film Board of Canada and showcased at last year’s TAAFI Film Fest!

With a focus on the creative journey, leadership, and the future of animation– this inspired and poignant keynote isn’t to be missed!