UMBC's Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA) welcomes Miguel Jiron, director at Sony Pictures Animation! Jiron will host a story development workshop for UMBC students on Friday, October 18, and a public artist’s talk at the Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival in Baltimore on Saturday, October 19.

From Takashi Murakami to the Spider-verse, join Miguel Jiron on Saturday for a talk about his personal, roundabout journey from the independent and fine art world to the feature animation industry, along with a screening of his shorts.

Miguel Jiron is a Nicaraguan American director at Sony Pictures Animation. Most recently he worked as a Head of Story on “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” the sequel to the Academy Award-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” on which he was a story artist. Additionally, Jiron wrote and directed an original short titled “Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham” for the home entertainment release of “Into the Spider-Verse”. Jiron has also worked as a storyboard artist on several other feature films.

Jiron has directed and written several animated shorts, which have screened at film festivals around the world including SXSW, Toronto International Film Festival, Annecy International Animated Film Festival and Ottawa International Animated FIlm Festival. In 2015, Jiron was named one of Variety’s Top Animators to Watch, and in 2018, one of Animation Magazine’s Rising Stars.

Prior to his work in animation Jiron was a painter for artist Takashi Murakami. He was born in Baton Rouge, LA and holds a BA from Northwestern University and MFA from USC.

Admission is free.

This event is co-hosted by the Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival.