Silent Green fit The Art Department Berlin like a glove. Might sound strange given the location was once a crematorium, but the peacefulness of the inner garden gave us all the much needed space to ponder over the wonderful insights from talks, workshops, panels and conversations with people from the industry. And we definitely had lots of things to process, including the fact that we were joined by more than 2000 visitors spread over the two festival days…
In no particular order, here are some of the moments that warmed our hearts and made our minds spin.
🌟 Atey Ghailan‘s super tight work schedule: “It’s very difficult to learn in your free time any skill set. To develop myself I tried to apply the 10 000 hours rule – if you practice something for 10 000 you will become a professional”
🌟 Aaron Blaise‘s love letter to 2D hand-drawn animation: “2D animation is not going to go anywhere because I will not let it!”
🌟 Inka Schulz‘s meticulous insights on her process for Diablo IV
🌟 “You can’t be precious about your ideas in the storyboarding stage. Creativity is a process.” (Emnet Mulugeta from Goodbye Kansas)
🌟 Fx Goby‘s fun takes on creating
🌟 Mel Milton‘s stripped-down and soul-bearing talk. “Think about how many people will miss out if you don’t become an artist” he encouraged us all.
🌟 “I only deliver a work when I feel it breathes the life and idea of the story” (Paul Dainton)
🌟 the amazing live sketching sessions by Drink and Draw Berlin
🌟 the fully packed Convoloot Panel “Laid Off – What’s Next?”
The Artist Studios were oozing with creative energy and the Bookshop and Wacom Booth were constantly filled with enthusiasts.
Guest artists, volunteers and visitors showered us with love and nice reactions post-event, such as the following:
🌟 “What a joy it was to participate in The Art Department in Berlin!! We met so many amazing people, the energy was incredible” (Bianca Nezari – Senior Recruiter at Envar Entertainment – via LinkedIn)
🌟 “I volunteered at The Art Department“ by We Are Playgrounds! It was such a great time. Everything was really well organised, the team was super sweet, and I got to meet a bunch of super talented and amazing people” (Jassi Buum via LinkedIn)
🌟 “I’m back from The Art Department Berlin! What an amazing event! 🙌 I highly recommend attending if you get the chance. These gatherings are such a great way to meet with other artists. I always come recharged!✨” (Laura Galiano – Concept Artist & Illustrator – via LinkedIn)
🌟 “I‘ve had the pleasure to attend TADBerlin by We Are Playgrounds and made lots of new friends, learned so much and got inspired like crazy! Looking forward to their next event!” (Annabelle Bradler – Game Artist and Character Designer – via LinkedIn)
We did receive some tips about how we could improve the experience next year as many visitors suggested we should add an extra festival day! In all fairness, the festival went by SO fast also for us. It felt like we experienced a gazillion gorgeous moments in a heartbeat. Luckily, we had filmmaker Jochem de Vet and photographer Willeke Machiels to capture and wrap some of them into a glorious 90 seconds aftermovie.
