"The Spaces Between" – Film Screening & Artist Talk

with Visiting Artist Chris Schultz

Visiting artist Chris Schultz, joined by collaborator Anna Stroud, present a screening and discussion of The Spaces Between.

The Spaces Between is a collection of hybrid animations that explore liminality, memory, and thresholds between worlds through physical and digital animation processes. The short film will play on a continuous loop from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the CFI's Video Studio. An artist talk will take place at 11:30 a.m., offering insight into the creative process, animation techniques, and the broader interdisciplinary practice surrounding this project.

Chris Schultz is an animator and interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans physical animation, digital processes, and object-making. During his residency (Sept-Dec 2025), Schultz concluded the final edits on The Spaces Between, a collection of short-form hybrid animations that combine tactile, hands-on animation techniques with experimental digital approaches.The project emerged from an intensive period of creative research in Nara City, Japan, conducted during two residencies at Nara’s Space Department between 2024 and 2025. Schultz and Stroud explore themes of memory, impermanence, ancestral presence, and liminality through this collection of hybrid animations.

Beginning with the primeval forest of Mount Kasugayama and extending outward, each animation moves further from its shadow and into a world of its own. Together, these works form a speculative map of in-between spaces, tracing relationships between place, built environments, the natural world, and the more ephemeral realms of time, life, and death.
  

About the artist

Christian (Chris) Schultz received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Central Oklahoma in 2018 and his Master of Fine Arts from The University of Arkansas in 2021. Schultz has been featured in shows both nationally and internationally. Born in Oklahoma he now lives and works in Northwest Arkansas and is a current faculty member of The University of Arkansas School of Art and co-founder of Pond Gallery in downtown Fayetteville, AR. Schultz has also founded an independent game studio, Stone House Studio, focused on the development of tabletop and card games. Schultz's work covers a variety of media including works on paper, video and animation and object making. Themes explored within current work include the ephemeral nature of time alongside the lightheartedness of play. These themes come together through a practice of world building with a current focus on the exploration of virtual worlds and the environment of his childhood backyard.

Over the course of his residency Chris will continue work on an extensive hybrid animation project titled Hello - From Mt. Kasuga. This short uses physical animation techniques alongside digital and hybrid elements. The work is a result of a month-long research endeavor into the ecology of the Primeval forest of Mount Kasugayama located in Nara Japan. Themes of the animated film include ecological conservatism, sustainability, preservation in the face of development while balancing the elements of play, curiosity and a leaning towards a hopeful future. Through speculative means the work questions what a future of balance looks like between humans and nature. Classes Chris will lead during his time as a visiting artist include stop motion and 16mm direct animation.
 

All abilities are welcome. For disability accommodations, call 479.856.7250 or email questions@faylib.org 2-3 weekdays before a program. Plan your visit by viewing our building map and details on accessibility services.

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