Dear TAIS community,
I am writing to you to announce the departure of our Managing Director, Myfanwy Ashmore. Myfanwy will be moving on after seven dedicated years with the Toronto Animated Image Society as of September 21, 2026.
Over the course of Myfanwy’s leadership of TAIS, they have been instrumental in advancing this organization’s mission of supporting independent animation. Myfanwy led the charge to remove barriers and create new opportunities to engage with animation by developing programs, policies and resources through an equity lens, and securing the funding needed to do so. Their many accomplishments will materially benefit TAIS members for years to come.
I, along with our board and staff, are grateful for Myfanwy’s passion, vision, and commitment to TAIS over their many years of service. Please join us in wishing them the best as they enter their next chapter.
Myfanwy asked us to share the following outgoing letter to members:
Dear TAIS Members,
It has been an honour to work and get to know the TAIS community, to build relationships, provide services & opportunities for artists, and to build & connect with such a great community. I feel blessed knowing how impactful TAIS has been for so many people.
I feel very proud of the work I’ve been able to contribute and achieve at TAIS along with the help of staff, TAIS members and board members over the years, to provide opportunities, to begin to dismantle barriers of access, to provide members with the very best equipment and studios possible, and to prioritize equipment support. I am super pleased to have been able to create systems of support like the volunteer living wage credit program, the 1:1 technical support program, the new TAIS Equipment Demos initiative, the new TAIS Knowledge Trust which archives & creates documentation for in house equipment support in the Arts Management System, the TAIS Production Archive (AMS) initiative, the dozens of high quality Studio Skills Workshops taught by professional artists in the TAIS community and beyond, the OTF funded accessibility renovations & programming, the North York Arts partnership for the animation project, the hundreds of animations created at TAIS, through studio bookings, off site equipment bookings, artists residencies. It has been quite an adventure, from pivoting the entire organizational framework multiple times during a global pandemic, to finding partnerships to fund gaps in our programming funding, to innovating capacity with limited resources, as the financial pressures in a city without sufficient arts funding increase over time. It is amazing to me that over 450 animations have been created through TAIS studio bookings & programming since I began in 2019 despite pandemic closures, despite increasing financial pressures for both TAIS and any artists living in the GTA.
I thank the membership, the staff, the bookkeeper, partners, friends and my family for being so supportive. Thanks for all the great talks, opportunities for growth & change, workshops, art making & community experiences.
I look forward to seeing friends out in the world at screenings, exhibitions, on my bicycle, and I am excited to return to my studio practice. This letter was written by a human.
Keep on animating!
Myfanwy
To ensure continuity in our operations, the TAIS Board of Directors has initiated a transition plan. We will share updates as they become available. During this time, we remain fully committed to supporting our members. The board can be reached at board@tais.ca with any questions or comments. For matters related to day-to-day operations, please reach out to studio@tais.ca to contact our Studio Coordinator Charlotte Lavoie-Auspert.
On behalf of all of us here at TAIS, thank you for your continued partnership, trust and support.
Sincerely,
Aisha Ghali
President, TAIS Board of Directors