For DonorsFor Applicants
user profile avatar

Ari Paltin

1,435

Bold Points

1x

Finalist

Bio

I’m an Experimental animation student at Calarts with a focus in stop motion and mixed media animation! I like creating works that explore my experiences as a transgender woman and express the intricacies of that experience in a way that’s never been done before. I also adore working collaboratively with others and creating platforms for other artists to promote their work! You can see my latest animated film “GURLSNIGHT” premiering in the Bentl Experimental animation festival 2024!

Education

California Institute of the Arts

Bachelor's degree program
2023 - 2026
  • Majors:
    • Film/Video and Photographic Arts
  • GPA:
    3.9

Wagner College

Bachelor's degree program
2020 - 2022
  • Majors:
    • Visual and Performing Arts, General

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Master's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Film/Video and Photographic Arts
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Animation

    • Dream career goals:

      My long term goal is to be able to work consistently with an animation studio that focuses on mixed media animation. Being able to collaborate frequently is important to me as well.

    • Cage supervisor

      Calarts silk-screen printing lab
      2023 – Present1 year
    • Head animator and editor

      What the…? Productions
      2023 – Present1 year
    • Animator, costume fabricator, writer

      Reliable News
      2023 – Present1 year

    Research

    • Film/Video and Photographic Arts

      California institute of the arts — Film technician
      2023 – 2024

    Arts

    • Bentl Experimental animation film festival

      Animation
      2022 – 2023
    • California Institute of the arts

      Animation
      2023 – Present
    • NPCC Brooklyn film fest 2022

      Animation
      2022 – 2022
    • Reliable News

      Animation
      GURLSNIGHT (2024), Realiable news (ongoing series), MOOVE ON (2023)
      2023 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Pacific marine mammal center — Classroom assistant
      2015 – 2015
    • Volunteering

      Spectrum Thereputic theater — Teachers assistant
      2014 – 2016

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Froggycrossing's Creativity Scholarship
    VIDEO PIECE ATTACHED BELOW: For most of my life I was afraid to create. I was intimidated By all the “rules” one had to learn to make “quality” art, and quite frankly I was scared of the vulnerability that came along with it. I was a closeted trans-girl living on Staten Island was constantly asking myself if there was a space for me to fully express the variegated spectrum of messy and honest feelings I had at the time. I believed this to be how things were bound to be for the rest of my life, until I discovered that there was in fact an outlet I could use to express all of these truths; Experimental Animation. Seeing the works of animators like Sally Cruikshank and Kathy Rose allowed me to see that creativity is at its best when it’s unfettered by the modern ideas of standards and norms. These films didn’t simply ignore the standard, they directly rebelled against them, both in their visuals and meanings. These films weren’t what many would consider “perfect”, but the boldness at which they attempted to push the boundaries of the medium, all while being so beautifully vulnerable, showed me that if I had an idea I so desperately wanted to create, I should do it. Learning animation with this mindset was exciting. I embraced the messiness of my works as an expression of my own authenticity. A few months ago I finished my first full film which I attached in a link below. I had endless fun utilizing mediums that I never had before, throwing as much inside as I could fit to fully let loose my creativity. I’d be lying however, if I said I didn’t feel a little trepidation when I first started working on it. I knew before I began that I wanted to create a film that encapsulated all of the fear, confusion, and love I experienced as a trans-woman. By the end of the process I felt no such trepidation at all, only hope that my film might one day reach someone the way all those other experimental animators works reached me. It was difficult work but now that it’s complete I feel confident to say that it exemplifies everything I believe experimentation in art is all about: Doing something no one else has done before, and doing so in a voice that’s truly “you”.