Christine A. Banna is an internationally showing, multidisciplinary animator and educator. She works in both contemporary and traditional processes with a focus on experimental animation and projection design.
Her animations and projections have been shown at the European Cultural Council (ECC) in conjunction with the Venice Biennale and at various film festivals around the world. Some of her credits and clients include the Mount Hope World Singers, Epic10 Films, National Young Arts Foundation, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, Greater Boston Stage Company, MassOpera, Lowell Chamber Orchestra, and Keene State College.
Born in Providence, RI, Banna grew up with a deep love of ancient history and science, which has been a driving force for her since she was a young girl. This dichotomy between ancient and modern is reflected in both Banna’s subject matter and medium choices in her work. Christine A. Banna received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She received her BFA in Painting with a minor in Art History from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. She is a faculty member in the School of Film & Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology and currently lives and works out of Rochester, NY.
Her animations and projections have been shown at the European Cultural Council (ECC) in conjunction with the Venice Biennale and at various film festivals around the world. Some of her credits and clients include the Mount Hope World Singers, Epic10 Films, National Young Arts Foundation, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, Greater Boston Stage Company, MassOpera, Lowell Chamber Orchestra, and Keene State College.
Born in Providence, RI, Banna grew up with a deep love of ancient history and science, which has been a driving force for her since she was a young girl. This dichotomy between ancient and modern is reflected in both Banna’s subject matter and medium choices in her work. Christine A. Banna received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She received her BFA in Painting with a minor in Art History from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. She is a faculty member in the School of Film & Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology and currently lives and works out of Rochester, NY.
Artist Statement:
I create experimental animation and time-based media that explore the relationships between deep time, material processes, and human experiences of transformation. My practice is rooted in painting and drawing, and I approach animation as an extension of my mark-making: a way to bring static images, materials, and gestures into time. Rather than prioritizing traditional storytelling, I am interested in the emotional and sensory possibilities of video art - using rhythm, movement, texture, environment, and duration to access deeper truths through experience.
A fascination with ancient histories, scientific discovery, and the relationship between past and present drives my work. I am interested in collapsing time — connecting seemingly disparate geological, biological, and human histories — and exploring how animation can transform our understanding of time itself. My current film in development, Primordial Film Soup, expands this investigation through the end of the Proterozoic eon, exploring the origins of complex life as a metaphor for the creative process and the alchemical intersection between painting and animation.
I work across traditional and experimental methods, including painting, direct-on-film animation, drawing, collage, and paper-based processes, alongside digital 2D animation, microscope-based imagery, and analog glitching techniques. I choose materials based on what best conveys the essence of each work, allowing the physical qualities of the medium to shape the viewer’s experience. I am drawn to animation because it is an absorptive art form — one that can incorporate research, experimentation, and knowledge from many disciplines.
I am particularly interested in treating animation as something closer to performance than playback. Through collaborations with theatrical productions, musicians, and ensembles, I create animated environments that respond to live scores and performances. While animation is constructed frame by frame, live presentation introduces unpredictability and chance, transforming each iteration into a unique encounter between image, sound, space, and audience. Through this approach, my work expands animation beyond the screen into an embodied, immersive experience.