In May-July 2024, thirteen participants took part in the second edition of the Online Creative Residency from Europeana’s Digital Storytelling Festival. Gloria Oddo created two sets of animations based on vintage photographs of family trips.
Exploring the theme of 'journey', participants worked with mentors in animation, social media, collage art, storytelling with 3D, and creative writing.
About the author
Who am I?
I am an Italian architect-turned-illustrator based in Brussels (Belgium) specialising in new technologies for the preservation of cultural heritage. Parallel to my architecture path, I have freelanced as a graphic designer and illustrator for cultural associations and events for over six years.
Lately I have been experimenting a lot with mixed media, mostly painting or embroidering vintage photos that I find at flea markets. My works have been exhibited in France, Italy, South Korea, Spain and the United States - and now on Europeana.eu. Passionate about the visual arts as a whole, I am currently enrolled on the filmmaking course at the Varda School of Photography and Visual Arts (Brussels).
What is my project about?
My project is named ‘Untraditional family trips’ and it is inspired by the Europeana Online Creative Residency's theme ‘Journey’.
I have been using vintage photos as a means to create ironic and whimsical pieces from the ordinary. So when it came time to brainstorm ideas for the residency, it felt natural to me to select family photos and animate them with a twist - as old photos of families always look so fakely perfect and arranged. I created two sets of animations: the first one focuses on one key element of the picture, which then is rotated, distorted, or both.
GIF by Gloria Oddo, based on 'Semesterbild' by unknown author, from Tekniska museet, public domain and 'matto' from Finnish Heritage Agency, CC BY.
GIF by Gloria Oddo, based on Camping in Porvoo from Finnish Heritage Agency, CC BY.
The second set is made of photos animated by juxtaposing a layer of ‘water’ as it is an essential element of any proper vacation.
GIF by Gloria Oddo. Based on Rastila Camping leirintäalue by Harri Ahola, from Helsinki City Museum, CC BY.
GIF by Gloria Oddo based on Balen-Keiheuvel Camping by Severs-Thomas, from Heritage Balen, CC BY-NC-SA.
Why did I apply to the Digital Storytelling Festival Online Creative Residency?
As a person who is passionate about cultural heritage and photography, I have been following Europeana for a while. Also, it seemed the perfect opportunity to expand my mixed media skillset, from working on still pictures to animated ones, while surrounding myself with a supportive group of art professionals and tutors from all over Europe.
What have I got out of the residency?
I now feel more confident in creating and showcasing animations to a broad public. Before the residency, I had a basic knowledge of the Adobe After Effects software, while during the residency the animation tutor made us familiarise ourselves with much easier software that can also be used on mobile devices, such as Adobe Fresco.
Also, thanks to the residency I have a better understanding of how to navigate the Europeana.eu website and find ‘new’ vintage photos for my next projects.
What will I do next?
I will probably take what I have learned from the residency and create a new series of animations exploring other topics that are urgent to me such as feminism or environmentalism, while using the endless Europeana.eu archive as a starting basis for the animations.