Office phone: 403.261.5767

General email: info@quickdrawanimation.ca

Quickdraw Staff

Executive Director – Peter Hemminger

Peter Hemminger has spent nearly two decades immersed in Calgary’s arts community, as a freelance journalist, an editor at Fast Forward Weekly, a programmer at the Calgary International Film Festival, a DJ at CJSW 90.9FM and a volunteer at Sled Island, the Calgary Folk Music Festival, the Calgary Underground Film Festival and more. Anything that lets him spend all his time thinking about movies and music, two obsessions he refuses to grow out of.

A lifelong animation fan, he excited to lead Quickdraw through its fourth decade as a centre for the production and appreciation of the best that the medium can offer. Plus, he’s secretly pretty happy to finally put his business degree to use.

Contact: director@quickdrawanimation.ca

Programming Director – Ryan Von Hagen

Ryan Von Hagen is an animator, editor, filmmaker, sound designer and musician living in Calgary, Alberta. Ryan received a BFA from the Alberta College of Art & Design through the Media Arts and Digital Technology department in 2012. Since then, he has worked on feature length documentaries, AFA-funded short animated films, and theatre productions, and has had his work displayed in Fine Art exhibitions. He has a wide technical background in the world of animation, as he is proficient in stop-motion, hand-drawn, cutout, and rotoscope animation, as well as green screen techniques. Ryan has been teaching animation with Quickdraw for the past 3 years through the Portable Animation Workshop as well as the adult classes.

Contact: programming@quickdrawanimation.ca

Production Director – Erin Saunders

Erin is an animator, illustrator, educator and general maker of things. She’s an alumni of Alberta University of the Arts, graduating with a degree in design and illustration in 2016. She’s been in love with animation since, and has worked as a 3D animator on several films and features, including work for New Machine Studios, Telus Storyhive and the National Film Board. She’s also taught with Quickdraw through the Portable Animation Workshops, as well as the QuickKids and Young Animator courses. She loves to mess around with video games, watch cartoons, make bread and take her dog camping. You can see some stuff she’s drawn at erin-saunders.com!

She’s always down to help get animations made, and loves the whole community of scrappy artists who call Calgary their sweet, sweet home. Send her an email about your project and she’ll be happy to aid you!

Contact: production@quickdrawanimation.ca

Outreach and Education Coordinator — Theresa Pinhey

Theresa Pinhey is an animator, an illustrator, and instructor currently residing in Calgary. Her journey with QAS started when she was 12, and moved to Calgary from Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enrolled in QuickKids and has been with Quickdraw through multiple GIRAF festivals, various animation events, and every animation class she could conceivably attend. She graduated from University of Lethbridge with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in New Media in 2014 and moved to Yamanashi, Japan for 3 years before returning to become an instructor for Quickdraw’s Portable Animation Workshops as well as the lead instructor for Young Animators After School classes. She loves to play video games, snowboard, and crochet when not feverishly animating. Check out her website for her work: theresapinhey.ca.

If you ever have an idea for an animation class or workshop, send her an email!

Contact: education@quickdrawanimation.ca

Board of Directors

As a member-driven artist-run centre, Quickdraw’s direction is set by our board of directors. For questions regarding Quickdraw’s governance, strategic direction and related topics, please email board@quickdrawanimation.ca.

Sage Wheeler

President

Caro Ging

Vice President

Mackenzie Bedford

Secretary

Keena Herman

Treasurer

Carol Beecher

Director

Joanne Fisher

Director

K. Lee Kain

Director