Draft:Tess Martin

• Comment: Virtually all the sources are primary, connected sources or interviews or of marginal quality. The draft has been ref-bombed with these. What is needed to establish notably per WP general guidelines and/or subject specific guidelines are secondary sources that are fully independent of the subject that are verifiably published in reliable sources. Netherzone (talk) 22:41, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Bquittman (talk) 17:11, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

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Tess Martin is an American-born film and visual artist based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Working across animation, installation art., and expanded cinema, her work explores themes of memory, time, place, belonging, and identity through hand-crafted animation techniques and site-specific installations.

Early life and education

Martin was raised between multiple cultural environments, an experience that has informed her artistic exploration of identity, memory, and belonging. She studied Fine Art at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom and later earned a Master’s degree in Animation from AKV St. Joost in the Netherlands. She also participated in the Animation Sans Frontières professional training programme from 2015 to 2016.

Career

In Seattle, Tess was a member of SEAT, the Seattle Experimental Animation Team, a loosely connected network of non-traditional animators, and curated two touring programs of Pacific Northwest shorts. She received financial support from Artist Trust, CityArtist, the Puffin Foundation and 4Culture. Martin has been based in Rotterdam since 2014. Her artistic practice combines animation, filmmaking, installation art, and expanded cinema. Many of her projects exist both as films and as gallery installations, often incorporating sculptural elements, sound, and site-specific presentation. Between 2007 and 2016, Martin curated short film programmes internationally. From 2014 to 2021, she organized and hosted ‘’Manifest Animation Show & Tell’’, a recurring animation-focused event series in Rotterdam. Her films and installations have been exhibited internationally at venues and festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and TOKAS Hongo in Tokyo. Martin has also participated in artist residency programmes including Yaddo, the Hawthornden Foundation residency programme, the Camargo Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, I-Park, and The Animation Workshop. In 2024, she was selected to participate in Berlinale Talents.

Work

Martin’s work frequently investigates the relationship between memory and place. Her projects often employ analogue and hand-made animation methods, including stop-motion, replacement animation and rotoscoping. Her 2022 work ‘’Still Life with Woman, Tea and Letter’’ was exhibited as both a film and an installation. Her 2025 experimental animated documentary ‘’How Now, House?’’ explores the histories and memories associated with a single house in Rotterdam. The project was produced both as a short film and as a site-specific installation environment. The work was presented at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and screened at multiple international festivals. Her work also includes music videos for for Seattle musician Mutual Shock, Venice Beach Dub Club, Dark Hip Falls, and Australian band The Animators

Selected filmography

‘’The Whale Story’’ (2012) ‘’The Lost Mariner’’ (2014) ‘’Mario’’ (2014) ‘’Ginevra’’ (2017) ‘’Orbit’’ (2019) ‘’Still Life with Woman, Tea and Letter’’ (2022) ‘’1976: Search for Life’’ (2023) ‘’How Now, House?’’ (2025)

External links

Official website

References

Category:Artists from Seattle Category:Artists from Rotterdam Category:Women animators Category:American animators Category:Experimental filmmakers Category:Stop motion animators Category:Animators Category:Animators from Washington (state)