I got the idea of founding the school of animation at Christmas in 1993. I was fascinated by the process of creating reality from a mere idea with the aid of computer animation in 3dimensional programmes. In the future, computer animation will not be used in artistic endeavors only, it will become a part of many human activities, from medicine, biology and genetics, through aviation, astronomy to archaeology, criminology, or architecture.
Initially, the people around me did not take me seriously. Problems of Slovak animated film industry were widely known and to found a school like this would mean first of all to create a new curriculum, which seemed impossible then.
Till then just art education was provided. I knew that there is no future in a purely artistic curriculum, because technologies were moving forward extremely fast. I realized that a school, which would fulfill my ideas, would have to be built from the basis with the resources I had.
As a child I was fascinated by the movement of a human body and drawing it. Therefore, I wanted to establish a school by play which will be full of optimism and enthusiasm in combining classic animation and computer animation, linking artistic and technological aspects complementing each other, creating inner harmony of technics and art. So, I linked classical
animation and computer animation with making of multimedia programmes, later there was graphic design, photographic design and clothing design. In January 1997 I started to organize classes of classical and computer animation under the heading of UAT – a new educational system – university of animation, at the department of design of the Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology and INTERLINE company.
This 5-year period seemed to me very long, but after some time I realized that it had had an enormous significance for me, I found numerous new friends, experts in animation, who later started to teach at my dreamed school.
The Academy was approved by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic and entered into the network of Slovak secondary vocational schools under the number 4402/2000-45 on January 17, 2001. In the school-year 2001/2002 the school accepted the first students for a a four-year full-time study in a new study programme – Animation and later, other programmes were opened – Graphic Design, Photographic Design and Clothing Design. The Academy of animation annually organizes international festivals devoted to secondary school students. ANIMOFEST is the international animated film festival of secondary schools, UAT Graphic is the international graphic design competition of secondary schools and UAT Photo – it is the international photographic design competition of secondary schools and UAT Fashion – it is international clothing design competition of secondary schools. The presentation of school leaving works at given competitions serve as a confrontation or feedback that is essential for their work. A constant development in organizing animated film festivals is an effort to contribute to the revival of traditional animated productions and support gifted students The Academy of Film work and Mulimedia (AFTaM) was established in 2014.
Our effort is to enable students to become a part of working process and thus maximalize their later career chances. The mentioned study programmes bring out the students´ intellectual, creative and visual abilities. After graduation, many students will work in companies, media or other mass media. Many students continue in their studies at universities in Slovakia and abroad (University of Performing Arts, University of Fine Arts, Faculty of Architecture, University of Filmmaking in Zlín, Faculty of Education, Faculty of mass media and communication…) or they just decide either to work for a Slovak or foreign company or in mass media.
Mgr. Viera Zavarčíková, Founder and GD
Academy of Animation