Animafest Zagreb Festival Council decided to present the 2017 Award for Outstanding Contribution to Animation Studies to animation historian Maureen Furniss.

The American animation historian Maureen Furniss and her work championed quite inspiring insights into some of the most important achievements in animation, and her creative syntheses of the most significant aspects in the field are also much renowned. She earned her PhD in abstract animation with a dissertation Things of the Spirit: A Study of Abstract Animation, drawing parallels between abstract animation and spirituality and music. Furniss also studied Chuck Jones and edited a book under the title Chuck Jones: Conversations, a series of analytical interviews given by this master of animation during the years. Her syntheses of different areas of animation are a popular read across the world – her Art in Motion: Animation Aesthetics encompasses main insights into the field of animation theory and aesthetics, with a special accent on creative activity in the US.

Her practical knowledge on animation was gathered in the book The Animation Bible: A Practical Guide to the Art of Animating from Flipbooks to Flash, and she also edited a book of essential studies of animation and its media context Animation: Art and Industry. In 2016 she published an acclaimed and praised history of world animation, A New History of Animation, opening a new chapter in animation studies. An outstanding writer and one of the finest connoisseurs of animation globally, Maureen Furniss is also the founder of Animation Journal magazine (in 1991) and the president of the Society for Animation Studies (2006-2010), which highlights her overall contribution to the organisation of contemporary animation studies and their evolvement into a reputable academic discipline.

The award will be presented at the festival opening ceremony on 5 June 2017.