This exhibition presents, for the first time nationally and internationally, a complete review of the filmography of the Leeds Animation Workshop, the feminist independent film collective founded in 1978.

Since it was founded, LAW has chosen to work in a collective, non-hierarchical manner, using animation as its expressive medium. While it is true that over more than forty years of activity, the roles, productive methods and techniques have varied, their intellectual and social engagement continues to be a central part of their approach.

To date, LAW has produced and distributed over 40 short films. The first of these were made during the 1980s, in the time of the Margaret Thatcher governments, when privatisation, labour reform and reduced accessibility to public services undermined the conditions of social welfare.

Their first film, Who Needs Nurseries? We Do! (1978), focuses on the lack of public daycare centres. As in many of their films, the subject is addressed with humour, in an entertaining manner, and features a unique point of view, in this case through the eyes of Tracy, a four-year-old girl.

LAW’s films are grounded in detailed research and can involve long periods of consultation, sometimes on a local level, but also working nationally and internationally. In these works, issues dealt with include the importance of caring for children (Who Needs Nurseries? We Do!, 1978), employment-related problems (Risky Business, 1980; All Stressed Up, 1993), nuclear proliferation (Pretend You’ll Survive, 1981), privatisation (Council Matters, 1984), sexual harassment and sexism (Give Us a Smile, 1983; Out to Lunch, 1989), the housing crisis (Home and Dry?, 1987), global debt (A Matter of Interests, 1990) and environmental contamination (Alice in Wasteland, 1991; Waste Watchers, 1996), amongst other subjects.

Special mention should be made of a series of four animated films referring to children’s literature and fairytales (Through the Glass Ceiling, 1994; No Offence, 1996; Did I Say Hairdressing? I Meant Astrophysics, 1998; and Working with Care, 1999), whose opening lines (“Once upon a time…”) give us the title of this show. In this way, we point to the shaping power of fantasy, while inviting viewers into a friendly space-time environment meant to enliven ways of collectively imagining ways of transforming the reality we live in, like when someone reads us a story.

*You can reserve a babysitting service for this opening for children between 0 and 12 years old. Children under 4 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
Place: Palace of the Virreina. Lab Auditorium (floor 0). Hours: 6:30 p.m.-9 p.m.