MINDY JOHNSON – VASD Program Artist Talk

Seeking the Immutable Truth: The Impact of Research & Discovery on Creativity

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

5:30 pm MT | Doors Open at 5:00 pm

Mary Harris Auditorium + Livestream

Free and open to the public.
Free food and drinks in person. 

The RMCAD student shuttle will provide transportation for students after the talk.

History – as we review it, is often a partial view of the subject. Fragmented documentation, limited views, narrow research, and scattered sources impair our comprehensive understanding of actual events. How do we then get to the truth? How does learning about historical truths make us better artists? Join Mindy Johnson, award-winning author of the landmark volumes Ink & Paint – The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, and Pencils, Pens & Brushes – A Great Girls Guide to Disney Animation, as she raises the celluloid curtain on the hidden ‘her-story’ of women in animation and shares how her groundbreaking volumes and game-changing presentations continue to redefine our collective animated past and shape the future.

About Mindy Johnson

Scouring Disney archives, family documents, and historic events, artist and historian Mindy Johnson travels the world to uncover the hidden stories behind some of the most iconic animation characters and art. Johnson is an award-winning author, musician, filmmaker, educator, and animation historian with expertise in women in early animation. Her groundbreaking book Ink & Paint –The Women of Walt Disney’s Animation, (Disney Editions) redefines our collective history. Recipient of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences – AMPAS/Oscars.org Film Scholar Award and the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Educators Forum Grant, Johnson’s research continues into the earliest women of animation with several forthcoming books and film projects. Most notably, she recently unearthed the oldest surviving hand-drawn animated and directed films by a woman, Bessie Mae Kelley. Her critically acclaimed debut Tinker Bell – An Evolution (Disney Editions) was honored with rare consecutive Family Choice Awards. She is a contributing writer for the epic volume The Walt Disney Film Archives –The Animated Movies 1921-1968, (Taschen) as well as the celebrated collection Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man, (Disney Editions).

Johnson’s creative work extends to a wide range of film projects including associate producing the award-winning documentary Pencils vs. Pixels (2023). In addition to a background in network television and film production, Johnson is an award-winning playwright, songwriter, musician, and contributing artist on several internationally acclaimed recordings. When she isn’t speaking, researching, or writing on a myriad of subjects, Johnson also teaches film/animation studies, women’s animation history, and screenwriting and intercultural film at CalArts, UCLA, and Drexel University.

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