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Joanna Priestley has been called the “Queen of Independent Animation,” but her creative ethos seems the opposite of that of an isolated ruler. In her 1985 short 16 mm animated film Voices, we see Priestley moving like drawings held under rippling water as she ponders fear and negativity, their viral infiltration. Then comes a thought: “I can see a world of disaster, endlessly teetering on the brink of destruction,” she says, “or I can acknowledge that dissonance, but focus on my immediate community and make that world flourish.” Nearly four decades later, the sentiment feels just as apt.
Priestley grew up in Portland, left for a stint that included an MFA at CalArts, and has been back since 1983 working from the same Northwest studio for nearly as long. Her work’s been featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and included in the Academy Film Archive. She made a music video for Joni Mitchell. But she remains enamored with what exists right here.
“Portland’s become this incredible nexus for the stop motion animation industry,” she says. “I’ve never felt isolated because there’s so much going on in my field. When I go to parties I can just chat with everybody about what’s going on at Laika or ShadowMachine—it’s great.”
What comes for the next 50 years? “My gut feeling is that Portland’s going to remain a really important creative center,” Priestly says. “It’s been that way for so long, and I don’t think political turmoil or environmental crisis or AI are gonna change that.”
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