ANIMATING THE ASHMOLEAN
A Student Animation Project
Animation is a powerful communication tool that brings museum collections to life through storytelling, creativity and emotional engagement.
The Ashmolean’ s Student Animation project takes place annually and invites Illustration and Animation students to create short animations inspired by objects in our collections.
Around 50–60 proposals are submitted each year from students studying at Universities across the UK.
Designed for our social media platforms, we now commission looped animations which ‘wake up’ museum objects and artworks, before returning them to stillness. The brief requires students to research the artefacts, and celebrate their visual language, while showcasing their own style, creativity and animation technique. The project has achieved significant public engagement, with the most popular animation to date receiving over 330,000 views. Beyond social media, the initiative provides students with valuable professional experience. It has also demonstrated the potential of animation as an interpretation tool, influencing interpretation across the Ashmolean’s galleries and exhibitions.
