The Persistence of Animation

Revolutionary Cels: The Sydney Waterfront, Harry Reade and Cuban Animation

Abstract: Harry Reade (1927-1998) was an Australian waterside worker-artist who influenced the development of the educational sector of Cuban animation during the early years of that country’s Revolution.

This paper examines the development of Reade’s ideological stance and the circumstances that enabled him to contribute to the use of animation as an agent of social change.

Biographical Statement: Max Bannah works as an animator producing short films, television commercials, illustrations and cartoon graphics. He also lectures in Animation History and Practice, and Drawing for Animation at Queensland University of Technology where he completed his master’s thesis A cause for animation: Harry Reade and the Cuban Revolution in 2007.